- Date
- January 9, 1986, 09:19 local (15:19 UTC)
- Place
- Memphis, TN
- Injuries
- 38 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N403DABoeing 727-232
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860109009359I
- Case key
- 7011
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
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
The aircrew rprtd that when the landing gear was retracted after takeoff, the l main gear indicated unsafe & there was an unsafe door indication. They recycled the gear, but observed the same indications. The gear handle was then put in the neutral psn & the l main gear extended to a down & locked psn. The capt decided to return to Memphis & make a precautionary landing. After the gear extension cycle, all gear indicated down & safe. Also, twr psnl confirmed the gearappeared to be down. However, after touchdown, the l wing began settling, but the aircrew kept the acft on the rwy. An emerg evacuation was initiated, but the slide at the l fwd door did not inflate. An investigation revealed the l gear outer cylinder, pn 65-57901-19, had failed from fatigue. A stress corrosion crack had initiated on the outer diameter ofthe strut cylinder where a strap had obscured the corrosion. There was no history of a hard landing. No pressure was fnd in the inflation bottle for the l fwd door slide. No reason was fnd for a loss of pressure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N403DA
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-232
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21147
- Airframe hours
- 31,573
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-15A, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Co, Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 8, 1986 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- MEM · Memphis, TN
- Destination
- LGA · New York, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MEM · Memphis Intl, runway 27, 8,926 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.