- Date
- May 31, 1990, 08:10 local (12:10 UTC)
- Place
- Atlanta, GA
- Injuries
- 67 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8982EDouglas DC-9-31
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 8158
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 the ac cross tie relay, which prevented the generators from being reconnected to the electrical system. A factor in the incident was the loss of the left generator in flight. Factors include inadvertently disconnecting the left generator while troubleshooting the right generator loss.
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
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew heard a loud 'clunk', followed by the right generator falling off line. After unsuccessfully attempting to reset the right generator, the left generator fell off line. An attempt to reset the left generator was also unsuccessful. The crew selected emergency power and returned to the airport for an uneventful landing. Examination of the electrical system after the incident revealed that the ac cross tie relay had failed in the 'closed' position. This prevented either generator from being put back on line. Both generators and associated components were examined and no evidence of malfunction or failure was observed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8982E
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-9-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47331
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Eastern Air Lines, Inc.
- Destination
- CLT · Charlotte, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ATL · William B. Hartsfield
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
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 13,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL