View source for Turkish Airlines Flight 981

{{Short description|1974 aviation accident in France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=February  2014}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Accident
| name            = Turkish Airlines Flight 981
| image           = TK981 crash site.jpg
| caption         = Debris field of the aircraft
| date            = {{start date|1974|03|03|df=y}}
| type            = Cargo door failure due to design flaw leading to [[uncontrolled decompression|explosive decompression]] and [[loss of control (aeronautics)|loss of control]]
| site            = [[Ermenonville Forest]]<br />[[Fontaine-Chaalis]], [[Oise]], [[France]]
| coordinates     = {{coord|49|08.5|N|002|38|E|region:FR-60_type:event_scale:100000|display=inline,title}}
| plane1_image    = TC-JAV (6004629408) (cropped).jpg
| plane1_caption  = TC-JAV, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 1973
| aircraft_type   = [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10]]
| origin          = [[Atatürk Airport|Yeşilköy Airport]]<br />[[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]
| stopover        = [[Orly Airport]]<br />[[Paris]], [[France]]
| destination     = [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow Airport]]<br />[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| operator        = [[Turkish Airlines]]
| tail_number     = TC-JAV
| IATA            = TK981
| ICAO            = THY981
| callsign        = TURKISH 981
| aircraft_name   = ''[[Ankara]]''
| occupants       = 346
| passengers      = 335
| crew            = 11
| fatalities      = 346<!-- don't need to add "(all)", we already have survivors=0 -->
| survivors       = 0
}}
'''Turkish Airlines Flight 981''' was a scheduled flight from [[Atatürk Airport|Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport]] to [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow Airport]], with an intermediate stop at [[Orly Airport]] in [[Paris]]. On 3 March 1974, the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] operating the flight crashed into the [[Ermenonville Forest]], about {{convert|40|km|mi nmi}} outside Paris, killing all 335 passengers and 11 crew. The crash was also known as the '''Ermenonville air disaster'''.

Flight 981 was the deadliest accident in aviation history until 27 March 1977, when 583 people died in the [[Tenerife airport disaster]]. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors, the deadliest accident involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the deadliest accident in the history of [[Turkish Airlines]], and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in France.<ref name="ASN">{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 TC-JAV Bois d'Ermenonville |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740303-1 |access-date=2019-03-07 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=McDonnell Douglas DC-10 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-10/index |access-date=2020-01-21 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=France air safety profile |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=F |access-date=2020-01-21 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}</ref>

==Aircraft and crew==
The aircraft, a DC-10 Series 10 (production designation ''Ship 29''), was built in [[Long Beach, California]], under the manufacturer's test [[Aircraft registration|registration]] {{Airreg|N|1337U|.}}

The aircraft had 12 six-abreast first-class seats and 333 nine-abreast economy seats, for a total of 345 passenger seats. At the time of the accident, two people were seated in first class, while the economy class was fully occupied. The cockpit crew was Turkish. Flight 981's captain was Nejat Berköz, age 44, with 7,000 flying hours. First Officer Oral Ulusman, age 38, had 5,600 hours of flying time. Flight Engineer Erhan Özer, age 37, had 2,120 flying hours experience.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|pages=7–9}}

==Accident==
Flight 981 departed from Istanbul at 07:57 local time and landed at Paris's [[Orly Airport|Orly International Airport]] at 11:02&nbsp;am local time, after a flight time of just over four hours. The aircraft was carrying 167 passengers and 11 crew members on its first leg, and 50 of these passengers disembarked in Paris. The flight's second leg, from Paris to [[London Heathrow Airport]], was normally underbooked; however, due to a strike by [[British European Airways]] employees, and the indecisive result of [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|the general election]] held in Britain earlier that week, many London-bound travelers, who had been stranded at Orly, were booked onto Flight 981, delaying the flight's departure by 30 minutes.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk">{{Cite web |date=12 May 1976 |title=Accident to Turkish Airlines DC-10 TC-JAV in the Ermenonville Forest on 3 March 1974 Final Report |url=http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1976%20TC-JAV.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602014551/http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1976%20TC-JAV.pdf |archive-date=2 June 2011 |access-date=13 February 2011 |publisher=French State Secretariat for Transport |via=Air Accidents Investigation Branch}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=6}}

The aircraft left Orly Airport at 12:32, bound for Heathrow Airport, and took off in an easterly direction, before turning north. Shortly after takeoff, Flight 981 was cleared to flight level 230 ({{convert|23000|ft|m|abbr=out|disp=or}}) and started turning west towards London. Just after the aircraft passed over the town of [[Meaux]], the rear left cargo door blew off and the sudden difference in air pressure between the cargo area and the pressurised passenger cabin above it, which amounted to {{convert|36|kPa|psi atm|abbr=on}},<ref name="aaib.gov.uk"/>{{Reference page|page=44}} caused a section of the cabin floor above the open hatch to separate and be forcibly ejected through the open hatch, along with six occupied passenger seats attached to that floor section. The fully recognisable bodies of the six Japanese passengers who were ejected from the aircraft along with the rear cargo door were found in a turnip field<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|pages=27,30}}{{Additional citation needed|date=October 2021}} near [[Saint-Pathus]], approximately {{convert|15|km|mi nmi|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} south of the crash site.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=6}} An [[air traffic controller]] noted that, as the flight was cleared to [[flight level|FL]]230, he had briefly seen a second echo on his radar that remained stationary behind the aircraft; this was likely the remains of the rear cargo door.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=5}}

When the door blew off, the primary as well as both sets of backup control cables that ran beneath the section of floor that blew out were completely severed, destroying the pilots' ability to control the plane's [[elevator (aircraft)|elevator]]s, [[rudder]], and number two engine. The [[flight data recorder]] showed that the throttle for engine two snapped shut when the door failed.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=26}}

The aircraft almost immediately attained a 20-degree pitch down and began picking up speed, while Captain Berköz and First Officer Ulusman struggled to regain control. At some point, one of the crew members pressed their microphone button broadcasting the pandemonium in the cockpit on the departure frequency. Controllers also picked up a distorted transmission from the plane and the aircraft's pressurisation and overspeed warnings were heard over the pilots' words in Turkish, including the co-pilot saying, "the [[fuselage]] has burst!" As the plane's speed increased, the additional lift raised the nose again. Berköz was recorded calling out, "Speed!" and pushed the throttles forward in order to level off. Seventy-seven seconds after the cargo door gave way, the plane crashed into the trees of [[Ermenonville Forest]], a state-owned forest at ''Dammartin's Grove'' ({{Langx|fr|Bosquet de Dammartin}}) in the commune of [[Fontaine-Chaalis]], Oise.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=6}} At the point of impact, the aircraft was traveling at a speed of approximately {{convert|783|km/h|mph kn m/s|abbr=out}}<!-- According to the FDR --> at a slight left turn, fast enough to disintegrate the plane into thousands of pieces. The wreckage was so fragmented that it was difficult to determine whether any parts of the aircraft were missing before it crashed. Post-crash fires were small because there were few large pieces of the aircraft left intact to burn.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=31}} Of the 346 passengers and crew on board, only 188 bodies were identifiable (40 of which were identified visually), with rescue teams recovering some 20,000 body fragments in all.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|pages=29–30}}

==Passengers==
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin:0 0 0.5em 1em; float:right;"
|-
|+People on board by nationality<ref>{{cite web |title=Passenger manifest - Path to Ermenonville, Paris |url=https://turkishdc10.wordpress.com/category/passenger-manifest/}}</ref>
|-
!Nation
!Passengers
!Crew|| Number
|-
| Argentina 
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
|-
| Australia
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
|-
| Belgium 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Brazil 
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
|-
| Cyprus 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| France 
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
|-
| Germany 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| India 
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
|-
| Ireland 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Japan 
| style="text-align:center;" | 48
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 48
|-
| Morocco 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| New Zealand 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Pakistan 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Senegal 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Spain 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Sweden 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Switzerland 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
| Turkey
| style="text-align:center;" | 45
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| style="text-align:center;" | 56
|-
| United Kingdom 
| style="text-align:center;" | 177
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 177
|-
|United States 
| style="text-align:center;" | 25
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 25
|-
| Vietnam 
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
|-
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! data-sort-value="zzz" |Total 
!335
! 11!! style="text-align:center;" |346
|}
There were 167 passengers on the Istanbul to Paris leg, and 50 of them disembarked in Paris and 216 new passengers, many of whom were supposed to fly on [[Air France]], [[British European Airways]], or [[Pan Am]], boarded [[Turkish Airlines|TK]] 981 in Paris, resulting in a 30-minute departure delay.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|page=4}}

The majority of the passengers were French, Turkish, Japanese, British, and American, including members of an [[Bury St Edmunds RUFC|amateur rugby team]] from [[Bury St Edmunds]], Suffolk, who were returning from a [[1974 Five Nations Championship|Five Nations]] match between France and England.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hassan |first1=Ahmed M. |last2=Taha |first2=Haithem E. |title=Crash victims were from 21 nationalities. 177 French, 56 Turks, 48 Japanese, 25 Americans and 16 British|journal=Aerospace Science and Technology |year=2016 |volume=55 |page=242 |doi=10.1016/j.ast.2016.06.001|bibcode=2016AeST...55..264H }}</ref> Notable deaths on board were Briton [[John Cooper (hurdler)|John Cooper]], who won silver medals in the men's 400 meters hurdles and the 4 × 400 meters relay at the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wallechinsky |first=David |title=The Complete Book of the Olympics |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1984 |location=New York |pages=57, 67}}</ref> and [[Jim Conway (trade unionist)|Jim Conway]], general secretary of the British [[Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union]].<ref name="Glasgow Herald - 5 March 1974">{{cite news|title=Search for clues to air disaster|work=The Glasgow Herald|date=5 March 1974|page=13}}</ref>

==Investigation==
[[File:TC-JAV, Turkish DC-10 (6060110163).jpg|thumb|The aircraft's rear fuselage; visible at lower left is the cargo door that blew out]]
The [[Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy|French Minister of Transport]] appointed a commission of inquiry by the ''Arrêté'' 4 March 1974 and included Americans because the aircraft was manufactured by an American company. There were many passengers on board from Japan and the United Kingdom, so observers from those countries followed the investigation closely.<ref name="aaib.gov.uk" />{{Reference page|2}}

The [[Lloyd's of London]] insurance syndicate that covered Douglas Aircraft retained [[Failure Analysis Associates]] (now [[Exponent, Inc.]]) to also investigate the accident. In the company's investigation, it was noted that during a stop in Turkey, ground crews had filed the cargo door's locking pins down to less than a quarter of an inch ({{convert|1/4|in|disp=output only|abbr=off}}), when they experienced difficulty closing the door. Subsequent investigative tests proved the door yielded to approximately {{convert|15|psi|kPa atm|abbr=on}} of pressure, in contrast to the {{convert|300|psi|atm|abbr=on}} that it had been designed to withstand.<ref name="Tetelman">{{cite web|date=9 August 2021|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/06/02/failure-analysis/|title=Failure Analysis|publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=24 October 2025}}</ref>

==Cause==
The crash occurred when an incorrectly secured cargo door at the rear of the plane burst open and broke off, causing an [[Uncontrolled decompression|explosive decompression]] that severed critical cables necessary to control the aircraft. To maximise the working space within the cargo hold, the cargo doors opened outwards, making them vulnerable to being forced open at high altitudes under normal in-flight pressure. To prevent this, a special [[Latch|latching]] system was used that locked shut under pressure when properly closed. To ensure the latches were properly positioned, a handle on the outside of the door pressed small metal pins into the latches; if the latches were in an improper location, the pins would not align and the handle would not close.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Parker |first=Laura |date=2023-12-31 |title=WAS FAA LAX ON CARGO-DOOR HAZARDS? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/04/23/was-faa-lax-on-cargo-door-hazards/5d977192-23a7-4ac0-9464-0f373d1571d8/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

The handle on DC-10 cargo doors could close despite the latches being in the wrong position, a discovery made after previous services, most notably during the incident involving [[American Airlines Flight 96]] in 1972. This was because the linkage between the handle and the pins was too weak and allowed the handle to be forced into the closed position.<ref name="AAR-73-02 Final Report">{{cite report |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7302.pdf |title=Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc. McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, N103AA. Near Windsor, Ontario, Canada. 12 June 1972. |date=February 28, 1973 |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |id=NTSB/AAR-73-02 |access-date=March 22, 2009}}</ref> A minor change had been ordered to install a support plate for the handle linkage to make it stronger; manufacturer documents showed this work as completed on the aircraft involved in Flight 981, but the plate had not in fact been installed. It was also noted that the locking pins on the crash aircraft had been [[Filing (metalworking)|filed down]] at an earlier date to make it easier to close the door. Finally, the latching had been performed by a [[baggage handler]] who did not speak Turkish or English, the only languages provided on a warning notice about the cargo door's design flaws and the methods of compensating for them. After the disaster, the latches were redesigned and the locking system was significantly upgraded.<ref name="Sherrill">{{Cite news |last1=Sherrill |first1=Robert |date=10 October 1976 |title=The cheap door that cost 346 lives |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/10/archives/the-cheap-door-that-cost-346-lives.html |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In the following investigation, it was found that a similar set of conditions, which had caused the failure of an aircraft floor following explosive decompression of the cargo hold, had occurred in ground testing in 1970 before the DC-10 series entered commercial service. This was highlighted in a memo from the fuselage's manufacturer, [[Convair]] (a division of General Dynamics), to [[McDonnell Douglas]], in which the series of events that occurred on Flight 96, and fatally on Flight 981, was foreseen; it concluded that if these events occurred it would probably result in the loss of the aircraft. In spite of this warning, nothing was done to correct the flaw. The crash resulted in some of the largest civil lawsuits to that date.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Witkin |first=Richard |date=1974-10-31 |title=Design Negligence Alleged In Jet Crash Fatal to 346 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/31/archives/design-negligence-alleged-in-jet-crash-fatal-to-346-neglgence-tied.html |access-date=2024-06-04 |work=The New York Times |page=85 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Stèle du crash aérien de 1974 (parcelle 144).jpg|thumb|Monument to the crash victims in [[Ermenonville Forest]]]]
Issues related to the latch of the DC-10 include [[human factors]], [[interface design]] and engineering responsibility. The control cables for the rear control surfaces of the DC-10 were routed under the floor; therefore, a failure of the hatch resulting in a collapse of the floor could impair the controls.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hassan |first1=Ahmed M. |last2=Taha |first2=Haithem E. |title=Airplane loss of control problem: Linear controllability analysis |journal=Aerospace Science and Technology |year=2016 |volume=55 |page=264 |doi=10.1016/j.ast.2016.06.001|bibcode=2016AeST...55..264H }}</ref> If the hatch were to fail for any reason, there was a high probability the plane would be lost. In addition, Douglas had chosen a new type of latch to seal the cargo hatch. This possibility of catastrophic failure as a result of this overall design was first discovered in 1969 and actually occurred in 1970 in a ground test, both of which McDonnell-Douglas knew about. This information, and the 1972 "Applegate Memo", came to light in the material supplied to the litigants after the 1974 crash.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Witkin|first1=Richard|date=1975-03-12|title=Engineer's Warning on DC-10 Reportedly Never Sent|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/12/archives/engineers-warning-on-dc10-reportedly-never-sent.html|access-date=2020-05-03|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

McDonnell-Douglas subsequently faced multiple lawsuits for the crash of Flight 981 by the families of the victims and others. In its defense during pretrial proceedings, McDonnell-Douglas attempted to blame the FAA for not issuing an airworthiness directive, Turkish Airlines for modification of the cargo door locking pins, and General Dynamics for an incorrect cargo door design. When it became clear that its defenses were unlikely to prevent a finding of liability, McDonnell-Douglas and Turkish Airlines and other associated parties settled out-of-court for an estimated US$100 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|100|1975|r=0}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}),<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/04/archives/turkish-airlines-offers-10million-in-crash-suits.html |title= Turkish Airlines Offers $10-Million in Crash Suits |first=Richard |last=Witkin <!--- ref has typo on the reporter’s name - see https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/richard-witkin-95-witness-to-the-history-of-aviation.html --->
|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1975-03-04 |access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref> including $80 million from McDonnell-Douglas,<ref name=Mayday/> of which $18 million was paid by its insurer, [[Lloyd's of London]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/destinationdisas00eddy/page/256 |title=Destination disaster: From the Tri-Motor to the DC-10, the risk of flying|last2=Potter|first2=Elaine |last3=Page |first3=Bruce |publisher=Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co. |year=1976 |isbn=978-0812906196 |edition=1st |pages=[https://archive.org/details/destinationdisas00eddy/page/256 256–270]}}</ref>

After the crash of Flight 981, the latching system was completely redesigned to prevent them from moving into the wrong position.<ref name="Sherrill" />

Turkish Airlines continued using the "Flight 981" designator but for a different flight, Ercan to Antalya, as of February 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flight history for Turkish Airlines flight TK981 |url=https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/tk981 |website=[[Flightradar24]]}}</ref>

==Dramatisation==
The crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was covered in 2008 in [[List of Mayday episodes#ep38|"Behind Closed Doors"]], a Season Five episode of the internationally syndicated Canadian TV documentary series ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'', which also covers the similar 1972 incident on [[American Airlines Flight 96]].<ref name=Mayday>{{Cite episode |title=[[List of Mayday episodes#ep38|Behind Closed Doors]] |series=[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]] |publisher=[[Cineflix]] |network=[[USA Network (Canadian TV channel)|Discovery Channel Canada]]<!--- country of origin: other networks and series titles found at the linked articles ---> |season=5 |number=3 |date=2008-04-16}}</ref>

Footage of the aftermath appears in the disaster documentary ''[[Days of Fury]]'' (1979),<ref name="Warshofsky1979">{{cite AV media |author=Fred Warshofsky |title=Days of Fury |url=https://archive.org/details/days-of-fury-1979 |publisher=Markwood Productions Ltd. |year=1979 |time=28m42s}}</ref> directed by [[Fred Warshofsky]].

==See also==
*''[[Michael Hannah, The Lost Years]]'', tribute album for one of the victims
*[[Uncontrolled decompression#Notable decompression accidents and incidents|List of notable decompression accidents and incidents]]
*[[List of airliner crashes involving loss of control]]
*[[List of accidents involving sports teams]]
*[[American Airlines Flight 96]], one operation of that flight also using a DC-10 suffered from a cargo hatch failure through the same flawed design.
*[[United Airlines Flight 811]], a flight that experienced a cargo hatch failure
{{Portal bar|France|Turkey|United Kingdom|Aviation|1970s}}
{{Clear}}

==Note==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Paul |url= |title=Destination Disaster: From the Tri-Motor to the DC-10, the Risk of Flying |last2=Potter |first2=Elaine |last3=Page |first3=Bruce |publisher=Quadrangle/New York Times Book Company |year=1976 |isbn=0-8129-0619-5}}
*<!-- quote=the last nine minutes. -->{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Moira |url=http://archive.org/details/lastnineminutest00john |title=The Last Nine Minutes, The Story of Flight 981 |date=1976 |publisher=Morrow |isbn=0-688-03084-X |location=New York |via=Internet Archive}}
*{{Cite book |last=Job |first=Macarthur |title=Air Disaster |publisher=Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. |year=2001 |isbn=1-875671-11-0 |volume=1 |location=Australia |pages=127–144 |author-link=Macarthur Job}}

==External links==
{{external media
| float =right
| width =
| image1 =[http://www.airliners.net/photo/Turkish-Airlines/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-10-10/0838909/&sid=e4d7246005e708cd182813bb5acf0f10 Pre-crash photo at Hamburg Airport taken from Airliners.net courtesy of M. Maibrink] }}
* {{commonscat-inline}}
* [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422eedde5274a1317000247/8-1976_TC-JAV.pdf <!--Old URL: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1976%20TC-JAV.pdf--> Final Report] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110602014551/http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1976%20TC-JAV.pdf Archive], [http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/725.pdf Alternate]) – French Secretariat of State for Transport – Translation by the [[United Kingdom Department of Trade]] [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch]], February 1976.<!--Alternat URL: https://bea.aero/fileadmin/user_upload/FinalReportinEnglish.pdf-->
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://bea.aero:443/fileadmin/documents/docspa/1974/tc-v740303/pdf/tc-v740303_05.pdf Final Report] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110531151112/http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1974/tc-v740303/pdf/tc-v740303.pdf Archive], [http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/726.pdf Alternate], [https://web.archive.org/web/20131105175836/http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/726.pdf Archive of Alternate]) – Original report by French Secretariat of State for Transport (''Secrétariat d'État aux Transports'') – Posted by the [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] (BEA - [https://bea.aero/fileadmin/user_upload/FinalAccidentReportinFrench.pdf Alternate version]
* {{ASN accident|id=19740303-1}}
* {{cite news| title=Remembering the Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crash | website=New York Daily News | date=3 March 1974 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/remembering-turkish-airlines-dc-10-crash-gallery-1.2551979 | access-date=4 July 2023}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in France between 1950 and 1999}}
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1974}}
{{Turkish Airlines}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by design or manufacturing errors]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight depressurization]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1974]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in France]]
[[Category:Turkish Airlines accidents and incidents|981]]
[[Category:1974 in France]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10]]
[[Category:March 1974 in Europe]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by loss of control]]