Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14 incident near Grand Rapids, Michigan, March 22, 1999
On March 22, 1999 at about 1:45 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, registered N600ME, was involved in an incident near Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 64 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the frozen elevator control. Factors were the rain and the low temperatures.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 1999 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 64 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14 · all DC-9-14s on the register
- Registration
- N600ME · registry record · serial 45725
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On two separate flights, the flight crews determined that the elevator would not respond to control input. During the first occurrence, the flight crew continued to fly the airplane using pitch trim and descended to a lower altitude where elevator control returned. During the second occurrence, the flight crew applied elevator backpressure until the elevator '...bump[ed} free and control was restored.' After the first occurrence, maintenance personnel found ice accretions in the elevator control bay of the vertical stabilizer. They also found debris obstructing the drain holes in this area. Maintenance personnel were unable to find any anomalies after the second occurrence. On both occasions, the airplane departed in rain showers with surface temperatures of 46 degrees (F) and 39 degrees (F) respectively.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,297 hours in all; 6,747 in this make and model; 244 in the last 90 days; 96 in the last 30 days; 10,686 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,931 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 12, 1999; 216 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 91,500 lb
- Seats: 65
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EWR Newark NJ at 1:10 am
- Destination: MKE Milwaukee WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 19 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 60 |
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.