Boeing 747-100 incident near Fairbanks, Alaska, January 19, 1999
On January 19, 1999 at about 7:26 am local time, a Boeing 747-100, registered N481EV, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks Int'L Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The improper overhaul of the thrust reverser pneumatic drive unit, and the subsequent failure of the thrust reverser actuator. Factors associated with the incident were the inadequate quality assurance procedures by the overhaul company.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 1999 · about 7:26 am local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Fairbanks Int'L Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-100 · all 747-100s on the register
- Registration
- N481EV · no longer on the register · serial 19896
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After landing, the number four engine thrust reverser remained deployed. A tailpipe fire occurred, with no reported cockpit indications of either the fire or the extended reverser. Ground personnel notified the crew of the fire, and the engine was shut down. A teardown inspection revealed that the thrust reverser pneumatic drive unit (PDU) had been incorrectly assembled at the previous overhaul, 113 hours and 26 cycles prior to failure. The required stroke of the PDU interlock mechanism is 1.318 to 1.326 inches. At disassembly, the stroke was measured to be 1.230 inches. This stroke is required to allow the gear change mechanism to fully shift (from extend, to retract). The PDU retract pawl fracture surfaces were indicative of overstress. The lowest ambient surface temperature the airplane had been exposed to at the various airports during the 26 landing cycles had been -13 degrees Fahrenheit. The surface temperature during the failure of the PDU was -27 degrees Fahrenheit.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 23,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 168 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days; 22,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,359 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 6, 1999; 113 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750,000 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Evergreen Int'L Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: RJCC Chitose at 1:59 am
- Destination: FAI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1L, 11,800 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: -27°F (-33°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.