Delta Air Lines Flight 705

Delta Air Lines Flight 705 (flight number: DL705, radio call sign: DELTA 705) was a regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic flight from Chicago Municipal Airport, to Miami International Airport.

On 10 March 1948, the Douglas DC-4 crashed while taking off from Chicago Municipal Airport. The accident, occurring during the initial climb, killed 12 of the 13 people on board. The accident happened due to a loss of longitudinal controllability but the cause of the loss of control is unknown.

Accident

On 10 March 1948 the plane initially flew from Miami International Airport to Chicago Municipal Airport where it landed at 9:06 pm. For the return flight, the plane departed from the gate at 10:45 p.m. and took off from the right southbound runway was at 10:57 p.m. At the time of the takeoff it was snowing. The takeoff appeared to be normal until an altitude of 150-200 feet was reached. The aircraft took on an increasingly steep pitch angle until it rose almost vertically. At an altitude of 500-800 feet, a stall occurred and the aircraft fell nose-first and over the right wing towards the ground. A partial recovery from the stall was made before the aircraft crashed to the ground and burst into flames. As a result of the accident, the aircraft caught fire. After an hour the fire was still not extinguished and burned down. The four crew members and eight of the nine passengers died. The sole survivor was Tripolina Meo, who lost her son in the crash.