Jim Lounsbury: Friday, May 25th, American Airlines' Flight 191, a DC-10 wide-bodied jet, taxies away from the gate at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for a routine flight to Los Angeles.

They include the February 6 crash of a commuter plane in Alaska that killed all 10 people on board and the January 26 midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at ...