{"id":2405,"date":"2017-10-06T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2017-10-05T17:20:34","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T22:20:34","slug":"another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

This week the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas.\u00a0 It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980.\u00a0 Aviation played a key role in that Vegas Tragedy.<\/p>\n

It was November 21, 1980.\u00a0 Just past 7:00am a fire broke out at the MGM Grand Hotel located on \u201cThe Strip\u201d in Las Vegas, Nevada.\u00a0 It originated in a restaurant known as \u201cThe Deli\u201d.\u00a0 There was an area of the casino which was not equipped with fire sprinklers.\u00a0 As a result, the fire spread at approximately 19 feet a minute through the casino in the hotel.<\/p>\n

Because the first was located on the lower floors and lobby, it trapped many hotel guests on the upper floors of the 26 floor resort.\u00a0 All told, 85 people were killed.\u00a0 A few died from burns, but over 60 died from smoke inhalation.\u00a0 Over 600 others were injured.\u00a0 It is the third deadliest hotel fire in US history.\u00a0 The Clark County Fire Department reports the fire as follows:\u00a0 http:\/\/fire.co.clark.nv.us\/(S(wetbrkfx43q21y42dohddk0i))\/MGM.aspx<\/a> This video chronicles the disaster:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4o8dRs1R6O0<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

My friend Russ was flying that day.\u00a0 He was stationed at Nellis AFB, where he flew helicopters.\u00a0 Smaller UH-1N Hueys and the monstrous CH-3E Jolly Green Giants were summoned to the scene.<\/p>\n

Russ was one of the first to arrive.\u00a0 His chopper was already in the air, heading out to the range for a routine training mission.\u00a0 They were diverted to the hotel where they settled on the roof and began to pluck panicked guests from the roof top.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Back and forth, back and forth, Russ and others flew, filling their choppers to capacity as smoke engulfed the hotel.\u00a0 By days end, Russ and friends had pulled over 1000 individuals off the rooftop.<\/p>\n

It was a long hard day.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

I have been to Nellis AFB on several occasions and hence to nearby Las Vegas.\u00a0 I like the inexpensive dining, I dislike the gambling.\u00a0 The saddest eyes I have ever seen are the eyes I saw in the people walking through Las Vegas.\u00a0 This week Vegas experienced yet another tragedy with first responders called upon again.\u00a0 I am thankful for them.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

I remember chatting with Russ about the MGM Grand fire four years after it occurred.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, it was still vivid in his mind.\u00a0 He told me that you never know what can happen on a flight.\u00a0 \u201cFlexibility is the key to airpower\u201d as they say in the Air Force.\u00a0 It was certainly demonstrated by Russ on that rooftop on that day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas.\u00a0 It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980.\u00a0 Aviation played a key role in that Vegas Tragedy. It was November 21, 1980.\u00a0 Just past 7:00am a fire broke out at the MGM Grand Hotel located on \u201cThe Strip\u201d in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":2404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[39],"tags":[465,468,467,464,469,463,470,466,462],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doctor Aviation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-06T10:00:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-05T22:20:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"264\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"doctoraviation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"doctoraviation\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/\",\"name\":\"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-06T10:00:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-05T22:20:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589\"},\"description\":\"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":264},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/\",\"name\":\"Doctor Aviation\",\"description\":\"Online Aviation Course By Former Air Force Academy Instructor\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589\",\"name\":\"doctoraviation\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png\",\"caption\":\"doctoraviation\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/doctoraviation\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation","description":"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation","og_description":"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day","og_url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/","og_site_name":"Doctor Aviation","article_published_time":"2017-10-06T10:00:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-05T22:20:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":264,"url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"doctoraviation","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"doctoraviation","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/","name":"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980 - Doctor Aviation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-06T10:00:49+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-05T22:20:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589"},"description":"Monday the world awoke to a tragedy in Las Vegas. It reminded me of another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980. Aviation played a key role that day","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg","width":400,"height":264},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/another-vegas-tragedy-mgm-grand-fire-1980\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Another Vegas Tragedy: The MGM Grand Fire of 1980"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/","name":"Doctor Aviation","description":"Online Aviation Course By Former Air Force Academy Instructor","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589","name":"doctoraviation","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png","caption":"doctoraviation"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/doctoraviation"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/MGM_Fire_Pic_1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paCzTi-CN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}