- Date
- January 31, 2000, 16:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Milwaukee, WI
- Injuries
- 91 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N203MEMcDonnell Douglas DC9-32
- Weather
- Not reported
- Status
- Completed · report July 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000131003209I
- Case key
- 48722
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 chafing of the internal water heater wire. A factor was the missing ground strap.
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 passenger boarding the flight crew was advised of smoke coming from the passenger lavatory. The flight crew instructed the flight attendants to evacuate the aircraft. All passengers and crew members exited normally. Inspection of the aircraft following the incident revealed that wiring internal to the water heater was discolored and melted adjacent to a terminal within the unit. The wire exhibited evidence of chaffing in the area next to the terminal screw. Additionally, it was found that the water heater installation was missing a grounding strap. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector in conjunction with Midwest Express personnel determined that the missing grounding strap prevented the circuit breaker for the water heater from tripping. Subsequent to the incident, Midwest Express Airlines has inspected their DC9 aircraft to insure that the ground strap is present.
Factual narrative
On January 31, 2000, at 1645 central standard time, a McDonnell Douglas DC9-32, N203ME, operated by Midwest Express Airlines as flight 107, received minor damage during passenger boarding at the General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121. No injuries were reported. It is not known how many passengers had boarded the aircraft at the time of the incident. The intended destination was the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, Atlanta, Georgia.
During passenger boarding the flight crew was advised of smoke coming from the passenger lavatory. The flight crew instructed the flight attendants to evacuate the aircraft. All passengers and crew members exited normally.
Inspection of the aircraft following the incident revealed that wiring internal to the water heater was discolored and melted adjacent to a terminal within the unit. The wire exhibited evidence of chafing in the area next to the terminal screw. Additionally, it was found that the water heater installation was missing a grounding strap. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector in conjunction with Midwest Express personnel determined that the missing grounding strap prevented the circuit breaker for the water heater from tripping. Subsequent to the incident, Midwest Express Airlines has inspected their DC9 aircraft to insure that the ground strap is present.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N203ME
- Reported as
- McDonnell Douglas DC9-32
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47673
- Airframe hours
- 60,977
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Midwest Express Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 14, 1999 · 77 hours before
- Departed
- MKE
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- MKE · General Mitchell Intl Apt
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
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,932 total · 9,830 in this make and model · 10,734 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Not reported
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.