Airbus Industrie A-300 B4-203 incident near Atlanta, Georgia, December 30, 1985
On December 30, 1985 at about 10:06 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A-300 B4-203, registered N231, suffered minor damage in an incident near Atlanta, Georgia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 169 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 30, 1985 · about 10:06 pm local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 169 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A-300 B4-203 A-300B4-20 · all A-300 B4-203s on the register
- Registration
- N231 · registry record · serial 220
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF INITIAL CLIMB THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE NO 1 ENGINE. THE PILOT RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. POST INCIDENT EXAMINATION DISCLOSED FOUR BROKEN TURBINE MID FRAME STRUT STUDS. THE FRACTURE SURFACES EXHIBITED FATIGUE SIGNATURES. A PROPOSED STRUD STUD DESIGN IS BEING MANUFACTURED FOR TESTING.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,973 hours in all; 2,226 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,493 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 13, 1985; 243 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 302,000 lb
- Seats: 341
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-50C2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 10:00 pm
- Destination: SFO San Francisco CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from ATL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 158 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N231 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.