Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30 incident near Flint, Michigan, July 5, 1997
On July 5, 1997 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30, registered N963N, suffered minor damage in an incident near Flint, Michigan. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 52 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An electrical short in the wiring of the left wingtip oscillating position light auto transformer and a failure of the system circuit breaker.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 5, 1997 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Flint, Michigan
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 52 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30 · all DC-9-30s on the register
- Registration
- N963N · no longer on the register · serial 47415
- 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 captain and first officer noticed smoke coming from underneath the airplane's instrument panel glareshield while at cruise altitude. After putting on smoke goggles and oxygen masks the flight crew performed the emergency checklist. Upon shutting down the generators, the smoke cleared from the cockpit in about 4-minutes. The flight landed and its passengers deplaned without incident. Examination of the instrument panel area revealed burnt wiring and a charred position light switch. Further examination showed that the left wingtip's oscillating position light autotransformer had shorted out, and the position light circuit breaker was stuck in the closed position.
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: 6,685 hours in all; 4,053 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,708 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 20, 1996; 5,887 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 107,000 lb
- Seats: 105
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Northwest Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 6:46 pm
- Destination: FNT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 48 |
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.