- Date
- November 20, 1991, 10:32 local (15:32 UTC)
- Place
- Atlanta, GA
- Injuries
- 29 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N908DLMcdonnell Douglas MD-88
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911120061519I
- Case key
- 8522
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
A short in an electrical connector which resulted in its failure. The reason for the short was not determined. A factor was the improper installation of the connector by an unknown maintenance person.
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 liftoff a passenger in row 18 reported observing flames coming from the overhead area on the right side of the airplane. The flight attendant suppressed the reported area with a halon fire extinguisher and reported the incident to the flight deck. However, the flight attendant did not report seeing flames. An emergency landing was made at the departure airport without further incident. Examination of the overhead area around row 18 revealed that the cannon plug connector adjacent to the light assembly had shorted. Subsequent examinations of the connector revealed that pins in the mating halves of the connector were damaged, and appeared to have occured when a previous connection was attempted. Research efforts to duplicate the connector failure mode failed. A review of the operators maintenance records failed to disclose if any maintanance had been conducted in the area of the connector. However, the operator could not verify that the connector and affected areas were never serviced during a previous stopover
Aircraft
- Registration
- N908DL
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49539
- Airframe hours
- 12,637
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-219, 21,750 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · June 20, 1991 · 750 hours before
- Departed
- ATL · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- MGM · Montgomery, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ATL · William B. Hartsfield, runway 27, 9,000 × 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
- 40
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL, 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.