Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Romulus, Michigan shortly and exploding into flames after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on August 16, 1987, at about 8:46 p.m. EDT. All 6 crew members and 148 of 149 passengers on board died in the crash plus 2 people on the ground. The lone survivor was a 4-year-old girl, Cecelia Cichan, who sustained serious injuries.