- Date
- April 8, 1992, 21:06 local (Apr 9, 1992, 01:06 UTC)
- Place
- Dayton, OH
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 28 uninjured; on the ground: 1 fatal
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N926LMcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920408010539A
- Case key
- 37140
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A failed wheel rim following an inadvertent over inflation by the mechanic. Additional causes were the failure of the mechanic to be aware of the pressure being used and his failure to follow procedures. A factor related to the accident was the failure of the company to make available low pressure regulators for their mechanics during normal work hours.
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 left side nose wheel tire was damaged during pushback, when the tow bar failed. The tire was replaced and while being serviced on the airplane, the tire rim failed, fatally injuring the mechanic. Examination of the bottle used to service the tire showed two pressure scales, bars on the outside and PSI on the inside. One bar equals 14.7 PSI. The high end of the scale was 10,000 PSI and the bottle was pressurized to 4000 PSI. The tire was to be serviced to 150 PSI. A check of the regulator after the accident disclosed it was properly calibrated. According to the FAA, the tire rim was stressed to 580 PSI. Examination of the fracture surface found, 'no...manufacturing or material defects...fracture surface is consistent with a tensile overload type of failure.' According to the company, no low pressure regulators were available. They are kept under lock when not in use and the responsible person had already gone home for the day.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N926L
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47172
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Trans World Airlines
- Registered owner
- Polaris Aircraft Leasing Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Destination
- STL · St. Louis, MO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DAY · Dayton Intl
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
- 50
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 15,933 total · 1,046 in this make and model · 1,500 as pilot in command · 121 in the last 90 days · 63 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 1 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.