Mcdonnell Douglas DC9-32 incident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 31, 2000
On January 31, 2000 at about 10:45 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC9-32, registered N203ME, suffered minor damage in an incident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell Intl Apt airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 91 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the chafing of the internal water heater wire. A factor was the missing ground strap.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 2000 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin · General Mitchell Intl Apt
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 91 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC9-32 · all DC9-32s on the register
- Registration
- N203ME · no longer on the register · serial 47673
- 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 passenger boarding the flight crew was advised of smoke coming from the passenger lavatory. The flight crew instructed the flight attendants to evacuate the aircraft. All passengers and crew members exited normally. Inspection of the aircraft following the incident revealed that wiring internal to the water heater was discolored and melted adjacent to a terminal within the unit. The wire exhibited evidence of chaffing in the area next to the terminal screw. Additionally, it was found that the water heater installation was missing a grounding strap. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector in conjunction with Midwest Express personnel determined that the missing grounding strap prevented the circuit breaker for the water heater from tripping. Subsequent to the incident, Midwest Express Airlines has inspected their DC9 aircraft to insure that the ground strap is present.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,932 hours in all; 9,830 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 10,734 as pilot in command; 1,740 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 60,977 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 14, 1999; 77 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 110,000 lb
- Seats: 91
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MKE
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 84 |
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.