On May 25, 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 crashed after taking off from O'Hare Airport in Chicago and exploded in a mushroom of flame onto an open field and a trailer park. Two hundred and fifty eight passengers, thirteen crew members, and two people on the ground were killed instantly.
Within hours the Cook County medical examiner's office set up a forensics lab at the crash site in an American Airlines hangar. Refrigerated vans were right there on the scene to keep the bodies from decomposing. National Transportation Safety Board flew in a "go team," a group of crash experts from around the country who keep their suitcases packed in case they get a call, day or night, to fly to a crash scene.
Many of the bodies of the passengers were dismembered due to impact injuries received when the plane dove into the ground. One fireman who was part of the recovery operation said "We didn't see one body intact. Just bits and pieces. We haven't been able to see a face or anything, just trunks, hands, arms, heads, and parts of legs . . . they were all charred." When bodies or body parts were removed, a stick with a number was placed in that spot.