# Incident 19980324007959I: Boeing 737247, Greensboro, NC, March 24, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 24, 1998, 01:32 local time
- Place: Greensboro, NC
- Airport: Piedmont Triad International Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: E9WA
- Location: 36.1013° N, 79.9411° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PIEDMONT TRIAD INTL (GSO), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1013&lon=-79.9411&mi=10
- Aircraft: N309VA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N309VA-2017-07-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing 737-247 (registry code 138448D, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-737-247) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 (registry code 52046, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-jt8d-5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 737247
- Reported engine: PWA JT8D9A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980324007959I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: PILOT STATEMENT: "ON CLIMB OUT OF IAD AT ABOUT 17,000 FEET, WE FELT A VIOLENT BUMP. WE ASKED THE CENTER ABOUT ANY AIRCRAFT IN THE AREA, THEY HAD NONE. AIRCRAFT FLEW NORMAL, UPON LANDING AT GSO WE INFORMED MAINTENANCE THAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD HIT A GOOSE. WE DID A WALK AROUND AND DISCOVERED THAT THE #1 ENGINE WAS MISSING PART OF IT'S COWLING." INVESTIGATOR/INSPECTOR NARRATIVE: OBTAINED STATEMENT FROM TONY LEONI THE CHIEF INSPECTOR FOR EASTWIND AIRLINES ABOUT THE INCIDENT. MR. LEONI HAD NO IDEA HOW OR WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE INCIDENT. THE LAST MAINTENANCE PERFORMED IN THE AREA OF THE COWLINGS THAT DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT WAS THE LAST A CHECK. MR. LEONI WAS ASKED FOR A COPY OF THE FLIGHT/MAINTENANCE LOG SHEETS LEADING UP TO THE INCIDENT AND A COPY OF THE LAST A CHECK AND OVERNIGHT CHECK PAPER WORK. THE AIRCRAFT FLEW 12.9 HOURS AND 13 FLIGHTS SINCE THE A CHECK PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT FLEW 3.5 HOURS AND 4 FLIGHTS SINCE THE OVERNIGHT CHECK. NO DOCUMENTED MAINTENANCE WAS FOUND IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT TAKE OFF OUT OF IAD AT 0127Z. THE SUBJECT AIRCRAFT WAS NEXT INSPECTED; THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE NOTED. THE SUBJECT COWLING IS PART OF A STAGE 3 STC BY NORDAM. THE COWLING THAT DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT ATTACHES TO THE ENGINE JUST FORWARD OF THE REVERSE. THE COWLING IS TWO PARTS A LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE ATTACHING TOGETHER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ENGINE WITH THREE LATCHES, AND ATTACHING AT THE TOP BY THREE ATTACH POINTS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE OF THE WING SUB STRUCTURE. DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON THE INBOARD AND OUTBOARD FLAPS, AND UNDER THE WING OUTBOARD AND INBOARD OF THE ENGINE. THE OUTBOARD REVERSE FAIRING AND OUTBOARD FLAP TRACK FAIRING WERE DAMAGED. THE MISSING COWLING UPPER SUB WING STRUCTURE ATTACH POINTS SHOWED SIGNS OF DISTORTION ON THE INBOARD SIDE BUT NOT AS MUCH ON THE OUTBOARD SIDE.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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