On May 11, 1996 ValuJet flight 592 (VJA592, radio call sign “Critter 592”) crashed in the Florida everglades. The NTSB later discovered that hazardous cargo in the form of expired chemical oxygen generators had been illegally stowed in the DC9’s cargo hold. A fire, fueled by those oxygen generators, had melted critical wiring and hydraulics, making the plane uncontrollable. The smoke-filled aircraft was doomed within 10 minutes of departing MIA enroute to ValuJet’s hub in ATL.
That year would have been my fourth as a full performance-level air traffic controller at Atlanta Center (meaning, I had officially survived the training process and was fully certified!) At that time, Atlanta controllers like me daily worked a high volume of “Critter” DC9’s (the only aircraft type the airline flew) into and out of ATL.
Upon hearing the cockpit voice recording of the incident being played on various news broadcasts, I instantly recognized the distinctive voice of the female captain of VJA592. My heart sunk. I knew I had talked to that particular pilot numerous times over the years while separating aircraft within the various sectors of airspace within my assigned area (especially through the Atlanta southbound departure sector, and the southeast arrival sector). Her phrasing on radio calls was different enough to make her voice memorable. It was only after the accident that I would learn her name was Candi Kubeck. Had the aircraft not gone down on that Saturday afternoon in May, I or one of my controller colleagues would have worked her flight back into ATL via the SINCA arrival later that day. But it wasn’t to be so.
There were 110 souls who perished aboard Critter 592, including 105 passengers and 5 crew members. Due to that ill-fated flight, Captain Kubeck attained the tragic distinction of being the first female captain to die in a commercial airline crash.