Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 accident near Chicago, Illinois, March 25, 1987
On March 25, 1987 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N128AA, was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries; 171 others were unhurt. 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 accident. 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 25, 1987 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries; 171 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N128AA · no longer on the register · serial 128
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER ARRIVING AT THE GATE IN CHICAGO, FUMES & SMOKE WERE NOTED IN ZONE C OF THE CABIN, THEN THE CABIN LGTG WENT OUT & THE EMERG LGTG CAME ON. MAINT PSNL FND THE #2 APU HAD AN AUTO-SHUTDOWN DUE TO A MALFUNCTION. THE APU WAS PLACARDED AS INOP & THE ACFT WAS RTRND TO SVC. AS IT WAS CLBG, SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, SMOKE BCM NOTICEABLE & THE CREW ELECTED TO RTRNTO THE ARPT & LND. AFTER LNDG, THE SMOKE HAD DISSIPATED & FIRE DEPT PSNL RPRTD NO INDCN OF SMOKE OR FIRE. SUSPECTING ONLY AN AIR CONDITIONING PROBLEM, THE CREW ELECTED TO CONT TO THE GATE. AS THEY BGN TAXIING, A FLT ATTENDANT RPRTD THE SMOKE WAS INCREASING, SO THE CAPT STOPPED THE ACFT & DIRECTED AN EVACUATION. A X-WIND PREVENTED PROPER DEPLOYMENT OF THESLIDES ON THE RGT SIDE OF THE ACFT. DRG THE EVACUATION, AN ELDERLY PAX, USING SLIDE L-4 ON THE LEFT SIDE, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED BY OTHERS WHO CAME DOWN THE SLIDE AFTER HIM. ALSO, 5 PAX RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES DRG EVACUATION. AN INV REVEALEDTHE SMOKE WAS CAUSED BY OIL FROM A FAILED APU BEARING WHICH LEAKED INTO THE AIR CONDITIONING SYS.
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: 13,000 hours in all; 302 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,020 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 440,000 lb
- Seats: 295
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6K (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 1:17 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas/Ft.Worth TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,300 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:25 pm from ORD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 13 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 5 | 158 |
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.