Boeing 727-251 accident near Detroit, Michigan, September 29, 1990
On September 29, 1990, a Boeing 727-251, registered N278US, suffered minor damage in an accident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 128 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INTENTIONAL ACTIVATION OF THE AUXILLARY POWER UNIT BY THE FLIGHT ENGINEER, AND THE IMPROPER EVACUATION PROCEDURES BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND. AN ASSOCIATED FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE APU CIRCUIT BREAKERS WERE NOT PULLED BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1990
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit Metropolitan
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 128 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-251 · all 727-251s on the register
- Registration
- N278US · no longer on the register · serial 2215F
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FOUR PASSENGERS WERE INJURED DURING THE EMERGENCY EVACUATION FOLLOWING AN APU FIRE. THE CREW REPORTED THE APU FIRE BELL WHILE TAXIING. THE CAPT. ELECTED TO EVACUATE, BUT DID NOT INDICATE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM TO EITHER THE CABIN ATTENDANTS OR PASSENGERS. SEVERAL PASSENGERS USED THE OVERWING EXITS ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE FIRE AND WERE INJURED JUMPING OFF THE WING. ONE SAID THAT THE WING FLAPS WERE NOT LOWERED DURING THE EVACUATION. THE APU HAD BEEN PLACARDED INOPERATIVE PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT. CREW ADVISED IN WRITING. THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER TAPE WAS ERASED IN THE COCKPIT AFTER THE ACCIDENT, SO THE FLIGHT CREW'S ACTIVITIES WERE NOT ABLE TO BE REVIEWED. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE APU REVEALED THAT THE FIRE STARTED BECAUSE OF AN ATTEMPTED START OF THE DEFECTIVE UNIT. PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT, NWA MAINTENANCE ATTEMPTED TO MAKE THE APU INOPERABLE FROM THE COCKPIT BY OPENING CIRCUIT BREAKERS. THE WRONG CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS FULLED, LEAVING THE APU OPERABLE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,500 hours in all; 9,650 in this make and model; 5,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,173 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 27, 1990; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 177,500 lb
- Seats: 146
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Northwest Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: YUL Montreal at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Observation at 11:00 pm from DTW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 2 | 121 |
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 N278US 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.