Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31 incident near Chicago, Illinois, January 31, 1985
On January 31, 1985 at about 5:06 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31, registered N8959E, was involved in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare International Arpt airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 26 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
- January 31, 1985 · about 5:06 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare International Arpt
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 26 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31 · all DC-9-31s on the register
- Registration
- N8959E · no longer on the register · serial 47157
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ABORTED TAKEOFF THAT BEGAN THIS SEQUENCE WAS DUE TO ENGINE INLET ICING. MOISTURE FROM THE WET RAMP WAS INGESTED INTO THE ENGINES AS THE ACFT TAXIED TO THE RUNWAY. NO ENGINE ANTI-ICE WAS USED BECAUSE NO VISIBLE MOISTURE EXISTED. FOLLOWING THE ABORT THE PILOT TURNNED THE ENGINE ANTI-ICE ON, BUT UNBEKNOWN TO HIM THE SYSTEM WAS UNABLE TO DE-ICE THE ENGINES. SUSPECTING, BUT NOT SURE THAT ICE WAS HIS ORIGINAL PROBLEM, HE DID A FULL-POWER ENGINE RUN-UP PRIOR TO HIS NEXT TAKEOFF. SINCE HIS ENGINE INDICATIONS LOOKED GOOD PRIOR TO BRAKE RELEASE. HE PERFORMED THE TAKEOFF BUT ABORTED THE FLIGHT SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF DUE TO A POWER LOSS ON BOTH ENGINES. ONE-FOURTH INCH OF ICE WAS FOUND ON THE ENGINE INLET BULLETS AFTER THE AIRCRAFT TAXIED BACK TO THE RAMP.
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: 12,000 hours in all; 200 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 104,000 lb
- Seats: 85
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-1B (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Airlines
The flight
- Destination: CLT Charlotte NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32, 11,600 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 1°F (-17°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from ORD, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 22 |
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.