Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Detroit, Michigan, August 8, 1985
On August 8, 1985, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N111AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 195 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
- August 8, 1985
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 195 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N111AA · registry record · serial 46511
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON AUGUST 7,1985 AT 2000 EDT, A MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-10-10 N111AA REGISTERED TO AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., HAD A PIECE OF THE ENGINE EXIT THE ENGINE CASE AND COWLING. ON CLIMB TO CRUISE AT DETROIT AIRPORT, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, WHILE ON A PASSENGER FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AND THE CREW AND 184 PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT DETROIT, MICHIGAN ON AUGUST 7,1985 AT 1955 EDT.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 24,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,031 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 25, 1985; 110 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 700,000 lb
- Seats: 345
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6K (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DTW Detroit MI at 11:55 pm
- Destination: ORD Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:57 pm from DET, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 184 |
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 N111AA 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.