Fallout from the crash of Flight 592
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet suffered its highest-profile incident when its
Flight 592, a DC-9 jetliner flying from
Miami to
Atlanta, plunged into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 aboard. The resulting investigation revealed numerous systemic flaws, and on June 17, 1996, ValuJet was grounded by the FAA. On September 26, 1996, ValuJet resumed flying with 15 jets, down from 52 before the crash, after complying with all
U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA requirements. On November 4, 1996, ValuJet announced that Joseph Corr, former
CEO of
Continental Airlines, would become CEO and President of the airline at a time when the airline was in serious trouble. It had lost $55 million since the crash of Flight 592.
After the large amount of negative publicity surrounding the Flight 592 incident, ValuJet suffered serious financial problems. On July 11, 1997, ValuJet announced it would merge with the much smaller
Airways Corporation, parent of
AirTran Airways. The merged company would retain the AirTran name, although ValuJet was the senior partner and nominal survivor of the merger.
[6][7]. In November 1997, the company announced it would move its headquarters from Atlanta to Orlando. On November 17, 1997, AirWays Corp. and ValuJet completed their merger, and the tarnished ValuJet name passed into aviation history.
Today, AirTran makes almost no mention of its past as ValuJet. A large cache of ValuJet memorabilia, including radio ads, remains locked in an Atlanta warehouse. It made no acknowledgment of Flight 592's 10-year anniversary, and did not "make any major corporate announcements on that day out of respect for the victims' families."
[8]