- Date
- March 30, 1988, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Boston, MA
- Injuries
- 86 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N154USMcdonnell Douglas DC-10-40
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- FAA report
- 19880330010239I
- Case key
- 15888
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 improper installation of the battery ground connection that resulted in premature loosening of the connection and electrical arc ignition of pooled fuel in the cac bilge. The fuel was not drained overboard due to inoperative cac bilge area drain valves. Contributing to the incident was northwest's non-compliance with a service bulletin to modify the ground cable attachment bracket to prevent loosening of the connection.
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
Drg taxi to gate after ldg, crew started APU normally. While taxiing nr 3 pneumatic duct fail lt illuminated. Later, the center accessory compt (cac) door warning lt illuminated and gnd pers saw smoke emanating fm the fuselage outflow valves. After eng shutdown, smoke entered the cabin and the APU tripped off. Fire dept pers fnd cac outside door hot, then, using cabin floor hatch, obsrved 1-2 ft high flames in cac. Fire was extinguished with dmg limited to cac. Invest revealed improper/loose battery gnd connection. Normal cable movement would loosen connection drg batt disconnect. Burned insulation blankets met spec but were coated with synthetic hyd fluid (slat actuator lkg) and jet fuel. Fire pattern suggested fuel seepage along bulkhead fastener line. Batt gnd last installed nov,87. Batt last chdg 2 wks before incident. Service bulletin pertaining to batt gnd not complied. Inoperative cac drain valves allowed fuel to pool in cac bilge. No cac fire warning or extinguisher system was installed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N154US
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-40
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46763
- Airframe hours
- 33,818
- Engine
- P&W JT9D-20, 49,400 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Northwest Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 21, 1988 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- JFK · New York, NY
- Destination
- BOS
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BOS · Logan Int'L, runway 4R, 10,005 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,156 total · 4,464 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BOS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N154US · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.