19961230045369I

Narrative: on December 30, 1996, at about 2227 EST, a Douglas DC-8-62, N804AX, operated by abx air inc. dba airborne express, as a cargo flight under 14 CFR 121, veered off the right side of runway 18R during an aborted takeoff, at Orlando International Airport (mco), in Orlando, FL. The three-person flight crew, and two jumpseat occupants were not injured. The aircraft sustained minor damage. The flight crew reported the following: the first officer (fo) took the controls after the aircraft was lined up on the runway. The fo advanced the power levers to 80% and began the takeoff roll. During the roll, the aircraft began to track to the left side of the runway. Power on all four engines was noted to be even at the time. Subsequent application of full-right rudder did not have any effect, and the aircraft continued tracking left. The captain then took the controls and aborted the takeoff, using maximum braking and reverse thrust. The aircraft then veered to the right and departed the runway before coming to a stop. Inspection of the runway shortly after the mishap revealed the following: main gear tire marks veered to the left of the runway centerline near the point where the takeoff roll reportedly began. The tracks then veered back to the right and across the centerline, to the point where the aircraft had departed the runway, which was about 2,200 feet down the runway from where the takeoff roll began. A two-foot wide, heavy skid-mark from the nosewheel tires was present along with the latter part of the main tire marks, which indicated that the nose tires were skidding sideways as the aircraft was heading off to the right side of the runway. No debris was found on the runway. Prior to removal of the aircraft from the scene, all of the cargo containers on the upper deck were removed from the aircraft and subsequently weighed to verify their listed weights. No significant weight discrepancies were noted. Follow-up investigation and inspection of the aircraft by faa/ntsb personnel and by the operator revealed no evidence of any pre-existing mechanical malfunction or failure. Inspection of the aircraft included the nose-wheel steering system, brakes and anti-skid system. Landing gear strut servicing, and the air/ground sensor. The weight and balance was computed to be within limits, with the center of gravity (CG) located near the aft limit. The aircraft cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were taken into NTSB custody for readout and evaluation. On 2/6/97, the certificate-holding district office (chdo) for this operator conducted a pilot proficiency check of the crew in a DC-8 simulator programmed with the same weight, c.g., and weather conditions that existed during the incident. The crew passed the check. (Sref: ptrs record id GL239708915).