- Date
- November 2, 1991, 10:17 local (15:17 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf Of Mexico
- Injuries
- 118 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N839TWBoeing 727-31
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 33001
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 overfilling of the forward lavatory during servicing and the failure to replace the fill/rinse line cap after servicing by the ground service personnel which resulted in the lavatory venting fluid through the fill/rinse line during flight and the subsequent ice formation and ingestion of ice into number three engine.
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
Ground personnel serviced forward lavatory just before flight. Flight attendant stated fluid was visible in upper toilet area of forward lavatory after servicing indicating it had been overfilled. Enroute number 3 engine failed and was shutdown. Flight diverted to miami. On arrival a blue streak was found on the right side of the aircraft beginning at the forward lavatory service door and ending at the inlet to number 3 engine. The forward lavatory service door was found closed and the fill/rinse line cap was missing when the door was opened. The fill/rinse line check valve was found stuck open. When a cap was installed on the line no leakage occurred. The lavatory drain line did not leak. Number 3 engine had sustained fan damage due to ingestion of soft matter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N839TW
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18904
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 14,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Private Jet Expeditions
- Registered owner
- Tran World Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- AAIP · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- EWR · Newark, NJ
- Destination
- MMUN · Cancun, OF
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,700 total · 4,200 in this make and model · 6,800 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -65 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg