- Date
- June 21, 1990, 20:00 local (Jun 22, 1990, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Atlanta, GA
- Injuries
- 111 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N415EADouglas DC-9-51
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 8160
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
Inadequate maintenance inspection of the airplane which resulted in operation of the tire while under inflated and its subsequent failure. A factor in the incident was the inadequate quality control by the tire recapping facility which failed to repair a previously identified tire defect.
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
During the take off roll a blow out occurred to the no. 4 tire. The airplane was returned to the departure airport & landed uneventfully. Examination of the tire revealed damage to the inner liner consistent with under inflation. The maint program for the operator requires tire pressures to be checked with a gauge during lay over service inspections. Maintenance records indicated the inspection was done the previous day. Recap records for the tire also revealed that it was recapped & delivered to the operator with a pin hole in the liner which allowed a slow leak. The pin hole was not repaired prior to delivery to the operator.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N415EA
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-9-51
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47749
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-17, 16,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Eastern Air Lines, Inc.
- Departed
- ATL
- Destination
- MCI · Kansas City, MO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ATL · Atlanta Int'L Airport, runway 27R, 11,889 × 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,517 total · 442 in this make and model · 2,142 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL, 1 nm away
Other investigations on N415EA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.