Originally Posted by EMBFlyer

It wasn't a design flaw in the DC-10. It was an unauthorized maintenance procedure for an engine change, developed by Continental (look up Forklift Joe) and accepted by American. In fact, Douglas cautioned against using that exact procedure. It was also AA's failure to include a stick shaker motor on the First Officer's side (the Captain's stick shaker went when the #1 generator did). It was also AA's training procedure at the time that had them slow to V2. They were at around V2+20. They slowed to V2. The stall speed was raised from 124 kts to 159 kts when the slats on the left wing retracted. V2 was 153. Had they kept the speed they had been flying, they would have flow away.

AA191 was not a design flaw with the DC-10. It was a chain of errors, that if any one of them had been broken, it would have been a different outcome.