Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88 accident near Pensacola, Florida, July 6, 1996
On July 6, 1996 at about 7:24 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88, registered N927DA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pensacola, Florida (Pensacola Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people were killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 137 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fracture of the left engine's front compressor fan hub, which resulted from the failure of Delta Air Lines' fluorescent penetrant inspection process to detect a detectable fatigue crack initiating from an area of altered microstructure that was created during the drilling process by Volvo for Pratt & Whitney and that went undetected at the time of manufacture. Contributing to the accident was the lack of sufficient redundancy in the in-service inspection program. (NTSB Report AAR-98/01)
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 6, 1996 · about 7:24 pm local time
- Place
- Pensacola, Florida · Pensacola Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 137 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88
- Registration
- N927DA · no longer on the register · serial 49714
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the initial part of its takeoff roll, the airplane experienced an engine failure. Uncontained engine debris from the front compressor front hub (fan hub) of the #1 (left) engine penetrated the left aft fuselage. Two passengers were killed and two others were seriously injured. The takeoff was rejected, and the airplane was stopped on the runway. The fan hub had fractured through a tierod hole and blade slot. Some form of drill breakage or drill breakdown, combined with localized loss of coolant and chip packing, had occurred during the drilling process, creating an altered microstructure and ladder cracking in the fan hub. Drilling damage extended much deeper into hole sidewall material than previously anticipated by P & W. Fatigue cracks initiated from the ladder cracking in the tierod hole and began propagating almost immediately after the hub was put into service in 1990. The crack was large enough to have been detectable during the last fluorescent penetrant inspection at Delta. Delta's nondetection of the crack was caused either by a failure of the cleaning and fluorescent penetrant inspection processing, a failure of the inspector to detect the crack, or some combination of these factors.
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: 12,000 hours in all; 2,300 in this make and model; 142 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,031 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 149,500 lb
- Seats: 142
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-219 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PNS at 7:24 pm
- Destination: ATL Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 7,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 3,400 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:06 pm from PNS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 2 | 3 | 132 |
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.