Boeing 737-300 incident near St. Louis, Missouri, September 8, 1993
On September 8, 1993 at about 10:40 pm local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N350SW, suffered minor damage in an incident near St. Louis, Missouri (Lambert-St. Louis Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 144 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a failure of the left outboard foreflap due to the loss of the bolts that hold the inboard sequencing carriage to the foreflap attach lug.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 8, 1993 · about 10:40 pm local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Lambert-St. Louis Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 144 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N350SW · no longer on the register · serial 24409
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was on final approach when the tower controller requested a go-around for traffic separation. The flight crew executed the go-around. The first officer, who was flying the airplane remarked the airplane was not flying right. Cabin attendants reported a problem with the left flaps. An off-duty captain riding in the cockpit investigated and reported the left outboard foreflap was broken and hanging loose. The Captain took control and made an uneventful landing. Examination of the failed flap assembly found that the nuts were missing on the two aft bolts which hold the inboard sequencing carriage to the foreflap attach lug, and the two forward bolts were fractured.
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
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,579 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 9, 1992; 2,832 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 125,000 lb
- Seats: 139
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM 56-3 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MCI Kansas City MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12R, 9,003 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,500 ft; not recorded at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 137 |
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 N350SW 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.