19990408021419I

Incident

FAA incident report · Boeing 737522 · Oklahoma City, OK · April 8, 1999

Date: April 8, 1999 · 18:02 local
Place: Oklahoma City, OK
Airport: Will Rogers World
Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
Operator: UALA
Aircraft: N908UA
Reported as: Boeing 737522
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 6,000 total

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The pilot reported he noticed an unbalanced fuel condition at cruise altitude, but he couldn't correct the condition. He then declared an emergency after determining he was losing fuel from the right wing. He landed at Will Rogers World Airport. The emergency crews foamed the right side of the aircraft. The slides were deployed on the left side of the aircraft and the passengers were evacuated. One flight attendant suffered a minor injury during the evacuation. An inspection of the right engine by the united airlines maintenance personnel revealed the cover on the main fuel filter housing had separated from the base of the housing.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT REPORTED HE NOTICED AN UNBALANCED FUEL CONDITION AT CRUISE ALTITUDE, BUT HE COULDN'T CORRECT THE CONDITION. HE THEN DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AFTER DETERMINING HE WAS LOSING FUEL FROM THE RIGHT WING. HE LANDED AT WILL ROGERS WORLD AIRPORT. THE EMERGENCY CREWS FOAMED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE SLIDES WERE DEPLOYED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE PASSENGERS WERE EVACUATED. ONE FLIGHT ATTENDANT SUFFERED A MINOR INJURY DURING THE EVACUATION. AN INSPECTION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE BY THE UNITED AIRLINES MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL REVEALED THE COVER ON THE MAIN FUEL FILTER HOUSING HAD SEPARATED FROM THE BASE OF THE HOUSING.