Amateur-built DHC-8-101 incident near Atlanta, Georgia, December 3, 1986
On December 3, 1986 at about 4:05 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-8-101, registered N802MX, suffered minor damage in an incident near Atlanta, Georgia (Atlanta Hartsfield). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 7 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 3, 1986 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Atlanta Hartsfield
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-8-101
- Registration
- N802MX · no longer on the register · serial 013
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT ABOUT 4,000 FT MSL, CPT ON SCH DOM FLT REPORTED LOUD POP AND SUB SHUTDOWN OF RT ENG. SMELL OF SMOKE AND VISUAL CONFIRMATION OF FIRE IN RT NACELLE. SHIPS FIRE EXT ACTIVATED DURING RETURN TO DEPT. ARPT. LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. INVESTIGATION REVLD FAILURE OF TURBINE STATOR RETAINING RING P&W PART NO 3034363. P&W HAD OUTSTANDING S.B. ISSUED AT THE TIME. THIS WAS ONLY ENG IN OPER FLT THAT S.B. HAD NOT BEEN COMP ON. THIS ENG WAS ALSO LEAD ENG FOR OPER FLT.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,450 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,352 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 33,000 lb
- Seats: 39
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW120ABS-632 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Metro Express,Inc.
The flight
- Destination: HSV Huntsville AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 270° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,800 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 am from ATL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.