- Date
- September 21, 1988, 23:55 local (Sep 22, 1988, 03:55 UTC)
- Place
- Albany, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 12 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N170RAde Havilland DH-7-58C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880921044939A
- Case key
- 36016
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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 acft experienced an uncontained disintegration of the no.2 engine. Scorched engine fragments ripped through the fuselage injuring two passengers, one seriously. The uncontained failure was the result of wear or spalling of the 1st stage reduction gear and the sun gears. Progressive contamination allowed the failure to progress to the ultimate uncontained failure. Contributing to the ultimate failure was an inoperative magnetic chip detector plug, which allowed the wear to progress undetected.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N170RA
- Reported as
- de Havilland DH-7-58C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 14
- Airframe hours
- 21,061
- Engine
- P&W PT6-50, 1,120 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Pan Am Express, doing business as Pan Am Express
- Registered owner
- Pan Am Express
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 21, 1988 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- JFK · Jamaica, NY
- Destination
- ALB · Albany, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ALB · Albany County, runway 28, 6,000 × 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
- 27
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,939 total · 1,589 in this make and model · 2,525 as pilot in command · 149 in the last 90 days · 69 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 10 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALB, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.