A McDonnell Douglas DC-10, flying as American Airlines Flight 96, had experienced an explosive decompression in the aft cargo hold in June 1972. American Airlines Captain McCormick 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 Flight 981. The two planes were also configured differently above the baggage compartment. There were three rows of extra seats added to TC-JAV, which added a greater overall load to the floor. When the cargo door blew out, the additional seats and passengers were ejected from the plane. Both flights experienced uncontrolled explosive decompression when the cargo door latches failed.