Boeing 757-232 incident near Atlanta, Georgia, January 31, 1997
On January 31, 1997 at about 9:10 pm local time, a Boeing 757-232, registered N611DL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield International). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 168 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the Stage 1 High Pressure Turbine due to a fatigue fracture in a disk blade retention lug.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 1997 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Hartsfield International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 168 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-232 · all 757-232s on the register
- Registration
- N611DL · registry record · serial 22818
- 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 takeoff, the left engine experienced an uncontained failure of the Stage 1 High Pressure Turbine (HPT). The airplane returned safely and made a precautionary landing. After further examination of the engine, it was determined that the 'HPT disk blade retention lug had separated because of a low cycle fatigue fracture'. Both a Service Bulletin, PW2000 A72-592, and an Airworthiness Directive, TAD 97-11-51T, were issued to address this problem in this and other Pratt and Whitney engines.
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: 15,000 hours in all; 2,751 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,395 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 20, 1997; 106 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 223,800 lb
- Seats: 190
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW2037 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ATL at 9:00 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27L, 11,889 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 11 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from ATL, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 161 |
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.