Mcdonnell Douglas DC8-63F accident near Vandalia, Ohio, July 13, 1989
On July 13, 1989 at about 5:13 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC8-63F, registered N950R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Vandalia, Ohio (Dayton Cox airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR, BOGIE TRIM CYLINDER, AND MALFUNCTION OF THE EMERGENCY AIRBRAKE CONTROL VALVE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 13, 1989 · about 5:13 am local time
- Place
- Vandalia, Ohio · Dayton Cox · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC8-63F
- Registration
- N950R · no longer on the register · serial 45903
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AS THE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC8 CREW BGN THE AFTER LNDG CHECK, A DECREASE IN QNTY OF HYD PRES WAS NOTED. THE CAPT ELECTED TO LEAVE THE FLAPS EXTDD, THOUGH THE SPOILERS WERE RETRACTED. HYD PRES RMND NML & THE CREW CONTD TO THE RAMP. WHILE TAXIING, THE QNTY SUDDENLY WENT TO ZERO; THE NOSEWHEEL STEERING & NML BRAKES BCM INOP. ATMTS TO STOP BY USING EMERG PNEUMATIC BRAKING WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE CAPT TRIED TO REVERSE THRUST FM #2 & #3 ENGS, BUT THEY WOULD NOT REVERSE (#1 & #4 ENGS WERE SHUT DWN). THE ACFT WAS ON A SLOPE; IT SUBSEQUENTLY ROLLED INTO A BOEING 727. AN EXAM REVEALED THE BOGIE TRIM CYL, PN 5616554-5503, ON THE L MAIN LNDG GEAR HAD RUPTURED. THE AIR BOTTLE FOR PNEUMATIC BRAKING WAS CHARGED TO OPERG PRES, BUT MOVEMENT OF THE AIRBRAKE LEVER WOULD NOT OPER THE CTL VLV, PN 25600-5001; THOUGH NO ANOMALIES WERE FND IN RIGGING/ALIGNMENT. MANUFACTURER DIDN'T PROVIDE A RCMDD INTERVAL FOR CHECKING THE PNEUMATIC BRAKING SYS, BUT THE OPER-ATOR CHECKED IT AT 25,000 HR (D-CHECK) INTERVALS; THE ACFT HAD BEEN OPERD 19,339 HRS, SINCE THE VLV WAS LAST CHECKED.
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: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,620 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 238 in the last 90 days; 74 in the last 30 days; 8,955 as pilot in command; 3,098 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 53,209 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 1, 1989; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 358,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Rosenbalm Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC
- Destination: DAY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,500 ft; scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 am from DAY
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.