# Accident 19981007035229A: Boeing 727224, Miami, FL, October 7, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 7, 1998, 07:09 local time - Place: Miami, FL - Airport: Miami International - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: To Aborted (Fixed Wing) - Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121) - Operator: CALA - Location: 25.7954° N, 80.2901° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MIAMI INTL (MIA), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.7954&lon=-80.2901&mi=10 - Aircraft: N66734, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N66734-2008-08-11) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Boeing 727-224 (registry code 1384076, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-727-224) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 (registry code 52046, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-jt8d-5) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BOEING 727224 - Reported engine: PWA JT8D9A - People aboard: 81 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 14,900 total, 4,500 in this make and model, 226 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99FA005](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99FA005) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981007035229A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON OCTOBER 7, 1998, ABOUT 0710 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A BOEING 727-224, N66734, OPERATED BY CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC. AS FLIGHT 1521, TITLE 14 CFR PART 121 SCHEDULED DOMESTIC PASSENGER SERVICE FROM MIAMI, FLORIDA TO HOUSTON, TEXAS, HAD AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE NO. 2 ENGINE DURING TAKEOFF ROLL AT MIAMI. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. JUST PRIOR TO MAXIMUM TAKEOFF POWER BEING SET, A LOUD BANG NOISE WAS HEARD. TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED AND THE AIRCRAFT EXITED THE RUNWAY AT THE NEXT TURNOFF. A PORTABLE AIRSTAIR WAS BROUGHT TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AND 75 PASSENGERS DEPLANED THROUGH FORWARD ENTRY DOOR AND NO INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED. THE PILOTS REMAINED WITH THE AIRCRAFT UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOWED TO THE GATE. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OCCURRED IN THE HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR OF THE NO. 2 ENGINE. A PIECE OF THE 8TH STAGE HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR (HPC) DISK IMPACTED AND ENTERED THE VERTICAL STABILIZER OF THE AIRPLANE CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. (.4)DURING THE INITIAL PART OF THE TAKEOFF, PRIOR TO THE ENGINES REACHING TAKEOFF POWER, THE NO. 2 ENGINE HAD AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE 8TH STAGE HPC DISK. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED, THE PASSENGERS WERE BUSSED TO THE TERMINAL, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOWED TO THE GATE. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE 8TH STAGE HPC DISK SHOWED THAT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CADMIUM WAS PRESENT ON STEEL BASE METAL IN THE AREA OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES AND THE SURFACE HAD AN INADEQUATE NICKEL COATING. THE DISK HAD ACCUMULATED 359 FLIGHT HOURS SINCE OVERHAUL. THE DISK HAD BEEN NICKEL-CADMIUM PLATED IN MARCH 1996 AND WAS STORED UNTIL FEBRUARY 1998, WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED IN THE ACCIDENT ENGINE DURING REPAIR. OTHER HPC DISK INSTALLED IN THE ACCIDENT ENGINE, WHICH HAD BEEN NICKEL-CADMIUM PLATED BY THE SAME COMPANY AS THE 8TH STAGE HPC DISK, WERE ALSO FOUND TO HAVE INADEQUATE NICKEL COATING. DURING NICKEL-CADMIUM PLATING THE NICKEL ACTS AS A BARRIER COATING BETWEEN THE CADMIUM AND THE STEEL PART TO PREVENT CADMIUM FROM CONTACTING THE STEEL PART, WHICH CAN CAUSE CADMIUM EMBRITTLEMENT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA99FA005](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99FA005), Oct 7, 1998: Boeing 727-224 (N66734), Miami, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The catastrophic failure of the 8th stage high pressure compressor disk from cadmium embrittlement as a result of improper adherence to the prescribed plating procedures and requirements by the… ## Other reports on N66734 (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19920421018669I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920421018669I), Apr 21, 1992: Boeing 727224 (N66734), Newark, NJ, Minor damage. Pilot advised passenger had observed portion of right wing break off. Returned. Inboard flap had separated. - [Incident 19830927066709I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19830927066709I), Sep 27, 1983: Boeing 727224 (N66734), Houston, TX. During climb no 1 and no 3 engine began to overheat. Found no 1 and 3 cds's overserviced. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.