Boeing 737-200 incident near Chicago, Illinois, April 28, 1997
On April 28, 1997 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Boeing 737-200, registered N9063U, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Ohare airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people had minor injuries; 56 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
inadequate nickel plating was applied to the compressor disk during the rework process at the operator's overhaul facility, which resulted in a brittle fracture in the disk and an uncontained engine failure. A factor was the operator's lack of written procedures and guidance for personnel on the NiCad plating line, along with their failure to supply a method of measuring the thickness of nickel applied.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 1997 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Chicago Ohare
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 56 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-200 · all 737-200s on the register
- Registration
- N9063U · no longer on the register · serial 19944
- 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 experienced an uncontained failure of the 10th stage compressor disk in the right engine. The flight crew aborted the takeoff, and an emergency evacuation was conducted after an engine fire was reported to the flight crew. Metallurgical inspection of the disk revealed that it had received insufficient nickel plating when it was reworked at the operator's facility 38 flight hours and 33 cycles prior to the incident. This resulted in cadmium embrittlement of the steel. The investigation revealed the operator had no written procedures to outline the process parameters and rectifier set-ups to be used during the NiCad plating process. NiCad plating line personnel also did not have any means of checking the thickness of the nickel plating during the plating process.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,537 hours in all; 3,128 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 109,000 lb
- Seats: 116
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ORD at 6:00 pm
- Destination: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32L, 13,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from ORD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 52 |
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.