- Date
- May 17, 1989, 09:39 local (17:39 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N818FTBoeing 747-121
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 17, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890517015039I
- Case key
- 5130
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of tires on the right inside main gear truck. A related factor was: failure of operator/management personnel to follow proper loading procedures, which resulted in an improper lateral weight and balance situation.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Drg the tkof roll, the crew felt a vibration btn 135 KTS & lift-off. They left the gear extdd & were adzd 2 tires had sepd fm the rgt inside main gear truck, a 3rd tire blew out & the 4th appeared intact. They dumped fuel & lndd. An exam revealed the tires had failed, resulting in skin dmg & bkn hyd line(s). Cargo had been loaded with more pallets on the rgt side; some pallets were not marked to indc wt or shipping id. A computer print-out (signed by capt & station agent) showed a lateral imbalance of 18,766 lbs. With this imbalance, gross wt should not have exceeded 744,000 lbs; actual wt was 751,316 lbs. After depg the cargo ramp, acft was taxied 3 mi in a straight line, then 2 left turns were made onto rwy 6R for tkof. Previous loading criteria provided 3% allowance for random disposable loads on pallets. In 1969, FAA issued an exemption fm FAR 25.471(b) to allow Boeing 747'S to be loaded to design limit, provided instrns were avbl to assure a symmetrical loading. Of 239 known tire failures, 71 involved the flying tiger line, an all cargo carrier.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N818FT
- Reported as
- Boeing 747-121
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20353
- Airframe hours
- 47,027
- Engine
- P&W JT9D-7A, 46,150 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Flying Tiger Line
- Registered owner
- Flying Tiger Line
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · April 10, 1989 · 352 hours before
- Departed
- ANC · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- RJAA · Tokyo,Japan, OF
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ANC · Anchorage Intl, runway 6R, 10,897 × 150 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,690 total · 2,162 in this make and model · 2,883 as pilot in command · 205 in the last 90 days · 31 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.