MIA86MA048

NTSB incident investigation · Boeing 727-232 · Fort Lauderdale, FL · December 28, 1985

Incident · No injuriesMajor investigationFinal report
Date
December 28, 1985, 13:33 local (18:33 UTC)
Place
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Injuries
131 uninjured
Damage
Minor damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N519DABoeing 727-232
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19851228071879I
Case key
31716

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.

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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.

Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malfTakeoff - initial climb
Combustion assembly,outer casing - fatigueCause
Maintenance,inspection - improperCompany maintenance personnelCause
Information insufficientCompany maintenance personnelCause

Analysis

After gear retraction drg takeoff, at aprx 150' AGL, the aircrew heard a loud noise & noted the #2 eng had failed. They secured the eng, dumped fuel & landed without further incident. An exam of the #2 eng revealed the combustion chamber outer case, pn 616315, had failed from hi stress, low-cycle fatigue. The failure originated at a 4.6 inch crack at the rear drain boss to case weld. At the last shop inspn, a suspected crack was visually obsvd in this area. The case was prepared for non-destructive testing by grit blasting it with aluminum oxide beads to strip off nickel-cadmium plating. However, the testing did not reveal a crack. Therefore, the case was recoated with nickel-cadmium & returned to svc. After the failure, an exam of the fracture area revealed the presence of nickel & cadmium (0.5 to 0.75 inch, centered on the fracture origin area). There was evidence that grit blasting (prior to non-destructive testing) had mechanically closed the prev crack, thus preventing detection. The operator revised the shop procedure to a shell blasting method.

Aircraft

Registration
N519DA
Reported as
Boeing 727-232
Category
Airplane
Serial number
21470
Airframe hours
22,083
Engine
P&W JT8D-15A, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
Damage
Minor damage
Flight
Part 121
Registered owner
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Transport
Last inspection
AAIP · December 18, 1985 · 80 hours before
Destination
DTW · Detroit, MI
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
FLL · Ft Lauderdale Int'L, runway 9L, 8,018 × 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
55
Certificates
Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Flight hours
18,002 total · 12,000 in this make and model

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
130° at 9 knots
Visibility
5 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
8,000 ft broken
Temperature
75 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
FLL

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.