An American Airlines DC-10, flying as American Airlines Flight 96, had experienced the same problem about two years earlier. At that time, the crew had managed to land the plane safely. On the ground it was discovered the rear cargo door had opened in flight. This caused damage to the fuselage but not the explosive damage in the case of Turkish 981. The two planes were also configured differently above the baggage compartment. There were three rows of seats added to Turkish 981 which added a greater load to the floor. When the cargo door blew out, the additional seats and passengers were ejected from the plane before the crash. Both planes experienced uncontrolled decompression when the cargo door latches failed. But Turkish 981 had additional damage to the plane that may have made it uncontrollable in flight.