- Date
- May 9, 1988, 16:40 local (20:40 UTC)
- Place
- Detroit, MI
- Injuries
- 112 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N800AABoeing 727-223
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 22573
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
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
The PIC made an unscheduled landing following decompression at 30,000 feet. The aircraft had been written up by flightcrews numerous times between may 7 and may 9 for pressurization problems. Pressure bulkhead at station 940 in the right wheel well cracked 15 1/2 inches due to fatigue. Aircraft had flown 55,437 hours and had 39,983 cycles at the time of decompression, one of the highest hrs and cycles in the American fleet. Boeing aircraft issued a service bulletin dated may 4, 1979 which was not complied with that addressed the issue of bead cracking in the 940 station wheel well panel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N800AA
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-223
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19475
- Airframe hours
- 55,437
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- American Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- PHL · Philadelphia, PA
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,640 total · 730 in this make and model · 145 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day