Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 incident near Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 23, 1987
On March 23, 1987 at about 3:58 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82, registered N409AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 114 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- March 23, 1987 · about 3:58 pm local time
- Place
- Minneapolis, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 114 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 · all DC-9-82s on the register
- Registration
- N409AA · registry record · serial 49320
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AFTER THE RIGHT ENGINE FAILED DURING A DESCENT. THE SHUTDOWN OCCURRED AFTER FAILED ANTIROTATION PINS ALLOWED GAS LOADS TO DRIVE NORMALLY STATIONARY THIRD STAGE VANE CLUSTERS IN THE LOW PRESSURE TURBINE AREA. ROTATION OF THE CLUSTERS IN THEIR CHANNEL ALLOWED THE CLUSTERS TO MACHINE THEMSELVES OUT THROUGH THE LOW PRESSURE TURBINE CASE. EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT 23 OF THE 44 THIRD STAGE VANE ANTI-ROTATION PINS RUPTURED FOLLOWED BY FRACTURE OF THE REMAINING PINS FROM SHEAR OVERLOAD. THE PIN STRESS RUPTURE WAS THE RESULT OF BENDING STRESSES ON THE VANE PINS FROM VANE TWIST & PIN MATERIAL CREEP. A DESIGN TASK WAS INITIATED IN 1986 TO PROVIDE A MORE DURABLE PIN AND IN MAY 1987 P&W RELEASED A NEW MATERIAL, INCO 901 NON-STEPPED, ANTI-ROTATION PIN, PN 803995, TO REPLACE THE PN 599714 TINIDUR PIN.
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 instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 180 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 130,000 lb
- Seats: 125
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL
- Destination: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,600 ft; scat at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 pm from MSP, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 108 |
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.