DCA03IA058

The airliner experienced fumes and smoke in the cabin after powering back from the gate. The airplane was about 200 feet from the jetway when the captain initiated an emergency evacuation. The airplane was not damaged, and 8 of the 89 passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation. During the emergency evacuation, the tailcone slide deployed but did not automatically inflate. An off-duty flight attendant reported that she attempted to manually inflate the slide but that she could not locate the red manual inflation handle on the slide's girt. She observed a small metal ring near where the red manual inflation handle should have been located and tried unsuccessfully to inflate the slide numerous times by pulling on that ring. The off-duty flight attendant then blocked the tailcone exit and directed passengers to other exits. The investigation revealed an improperly rigged cable assembly due to improper maintenance of the tailcone evacuation system by the airline. Additionally, other slides were found with similar problems. The slide manufacturer, Air Cruisers, had issued a service bulletin (SB) to address the problem. On May 10, 2004, the Safety Board issued two recommendations (A-04-42 and -43) to the FAA to expeditiously issue an airworthiness directive to require operators to implement the SB on an accelerated schedule and not wait for the slides' next regularly scheduled maintenance interval, and to require operators that are operating airplanes with the affected slides inflation cables that have been improperly modified to include a manual inflation cable handle with a key ring, to reinstall new, unmodified inflation cables at the next scheduled maintenance opportunity.

On September 25, 2003, at approximately 0650 Central Daylight Time (CDT), a McDonnell-Douglas (Boeing) MD-80, N462AA, operated by American Airlines as flight 1128 from Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX to Tampa, FL, experienced an emergency evacuation after powering back from gate C17. Smoke and/or fumes entered the cockpit and cabin and the captain initiated an emergency evacuation after attempting to return to the jetway. During the evacuation the tailcone slide deployed but did not inflate. The flight was operated as a scheduled domestic passenger airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR 121 and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. The airplane was not damaged and there were no injuries to the 5 crewmembers or 81 passengers. Eight passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation.