Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-40 incident near Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1986
On August 10, 1986 at about 12:15 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-40, registered N184AT, was destroyed in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Intl airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). The NTSB record does not give the injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 1986 · about 12:15 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-40 · all DC-10-40s on the register
- Registration
- N184AT · registry record · serial 46751
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A CHARTER FLT ARRIVED & DEPLANED WITHOUT INCIDENT & WITH NO INDICATION OF SMOKE, FUMES OR HEAT. COMPANY MAINT PSNL HAD PLACED DAMAGED PASSENGER SEATBACKS (INCORPORATING SOLID-STATE CHEMICAL OXYGEN GENERATORS) IN THE FWD CARGO COMPARTMENT WITH SEAT COVERS & OIL. A COMPANY MECHANIC EXAMINED THE SEATBACKS TO FIND A SERVICEABLE UNIT. HE FOUND A LOOSE OXYGEN CANISTER & HANDLED IT IMPROPERLY BY ITS OXYGEN HOSE. SUCH HANDLING CAN RELEASE THE FIRING PIN, FIRE THE PERCUSSION CAP, TRIGGER A CHEMICAL REACTION, & GENERATE OXYGEN. THIS CAN GENERATE UP TO 430 DEG OF HEAT OUTSIDE THE CANISTER. A FIRE BGNIN THE FWD CARGO COMPARTMENT IN THE VICINITY OF WHERE AN OXYGEN CANISTER WAS FND (LATER) WITH A DENTED STRIKER PLATE. THE SEAT COVERS IGNITED, FIRE BURNED THRU THE CABIN FLOOR, & SUBSEQUENTLY, IT SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CABIN. COMPANY MAINT PSNL DID NOT KNOW THAT OXYGEN GENERATORS, CARRIED AS COMPANY SUPPLIES, WERE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. THE MECHANIC WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE REPAIR OR INSTALLATION OF THE PASSENGER SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN EQUIPMENT.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,155 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 555,000 lb
- Seats: 344
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-20 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA at 7:50 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:31 pm from ORD
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.