- Date
- January 31, 1990, 14:31 local (19:31 UTC)
- Place
- Louisville, KY
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 71 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8978EDouglas DC-9-31
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900131001729I
- Case key
- 8154
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
The disabling of the main landing gear torque link which allowed the truck to rotate freely. The torque link was disabled when excessive vibration was generated by excessive play of the torque link pins in their bushings.
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
After landing the flight crew noted a vibration. Left main gear torque link apex bolt was found to have vibrated out of the torque link which allowed main gear truck to rotate 360 degrees during landing roll. The nut had stripped off of the bolt. Laboratory examination revealed that the torque link attaching pins had excessive play. New & old apex bolts were measured. They failed to pass the most stringent quality control check for correct thread size. The safety board believes that the nut stripped off when the loose torque links allowed excessive vibration. The undersize apex bolt threads allowed the nut to shear away the bolt pin designed to retain the nut.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8978E
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-9-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47327
- Airframe hours
- 58,041
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-7B, 14,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Eastern Air Lines, Inc
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 22, 1988
- Departed
- MKE · Milwaukee, WI
- Destination
- SDF
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- SDF · Standiford Field, runway 29, 7,249 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 374 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SDF, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N8978E · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.