Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 incident near St. Louis, Missouri, September 2, 1993
On September 2, 1993 at about 5:03 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82, registered N918TW, was involved in an incident near St. Louis, Missouri (Lambert-St. Louis Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 108 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a fatigue failure of the power transfer unit caused by a material defect which resulted in a total hydraulic system failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 1993 · about 5:03 pm local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Lambert-St. Louis Int'L
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 108 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 · all DC-9-82s on the register
- Registration
- N918TW · no longer on the register · serial 49367
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AS THE CAPTAIN WAS TURNING THE AIRPLANE OFF THE RUNWAY FOLLOWING ITS LANDING ROLL HE SAID IT WAS '...EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN.' THE CAPTAIN SAID THE AIRPLANE TURNED TO A 45 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE RUNWAY AND WOULD GO NO FURTHER. THE STEERING SYSTEM FAILED AND THE CAPTAIN ATTEMPTED TO STOP THE AIRPLANE ON THE TAXIWAY USING BRAKES AND REVERSE THRUST. THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT STOP AND ROLLED OFF ONTO THE GRASS AREA ADJACENT TO THE TAXIWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM FOUND THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM POWER TRANSFER UNIT'S (PTU) HOUSING WAS CRACKED AROUND ITS ENTIRE CIRCUMFERENCE. THE PTU ON THE INCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS AN EARLY STYLE UNIT ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER'S SERVICE BULLETIN. THE SERVICE BULLETIN ADVISED OWNERS OF THE AIRPLANE TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL ALUMINUM HOUSING WITH A CAST IRON TYPE. EXAMINATION OF THE PTU'S HOUSING FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED SHRINKAGE CAVITIES, AND LARGE SILICON INCLUSIONS.
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: 11,992 hours in all; 3,878 in this make and model; 137 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 140,000 lb
- Seats: 132
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge JT8D-209 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Twa, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LGA New York NY at 2:29 pm
- Destination: STL MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30R, 11,019 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 3,300 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 pm from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 103 |
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 N918TW 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.