Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Chicago, Illinois, March 3, 1992
On March 3, 1992 at about 9:50 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N1820U, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 200 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTAMINATED ANTI-SKID BRAKING SYSTEM ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS WHICH RESULTED IN A PARTIAL LOSS OF THE ANTI-SKID SYSTEM AND LOCKING UP OF THE BRAKES ON THE LEFT MAIN GEAR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 3, 1992 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 200 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
- N1820U · no longer on the register · serial 46619
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ROLLOUT, THE CAPTAIN APPLIED BRAKES TO DECELERATE THE AIRPLANE AS IT WAS TURNING TOWARDS THE TAXIWAY. THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR BRAKES, WHICH ARE NORMALLY PROTECTED BY A BRAKE ANTI-SKID SYSTEM, LOCKED THREE OF THE FOUR WHEELS SUFFICIENTLY SO THAT THE TIRES WERE SCRUBBED DOWN AND RUPTURED. THE FOURTH TIRE WAS SCRUBBED DOWN AND DEFLATED. THE CAPTAIN STOPPED THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO ENTERING THE TAXIWAY. POST-INCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED CONTAMINATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS BETWEEN THE ANTI-SKID MANIFOLDS AND THE ANTI-SKID COMPUTER RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF ANTI-SKID PROTECTION.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 5,500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 2, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 410,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angles CA at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14R, 13,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft; not recorded at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from ORD, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 189 |
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 N1820U 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.