Boeing 767-232 incident near Salt Lake City, Utah, December 6, 1999
On December 6, 1999 at about 11:55 pm local time, a Boeing 767-232, registered N111DN, suffered minor damage in an incident near Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 85 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Total failure of the main landing gear retract actuator due to stress corrosion caused by the use of a faulty sealant by company maintenance personnel that allowed moisture to enter the joint. A factor was the use of an improper fillet seal.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 1999 · about 11:55 pm local time
- Place
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 85 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-232 · all 767-232s on the register
- Registration
- N111DN · no longer on the register · serial 22223
- 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The crew heard a loud noise and felt a vibration when the landing gear was retracted after takeoff. An emergency was declared, and the flight returned to Salt Lake City. When the landing gear was lowered, the nose and right main landing gear DOWN AND LOCKED lights illuminated, but a GEAR UNSAFE light illuminated for the left main landing gear. Following a low pass over the airport, maintenance personnel advised the landing gear appeared to be down and locked. An uneventful landing was made. Maintenance personnel informed the crew that the landing gear actuator had sheared and could not be pinned for towing. The part was later removed and examined. Stress corrosion cracking had occurred through 75% of the piston, followed by ductile separation. The corrosion had formed when a faulty fillet seal around the base of the rod end allowed moisture to enter the joint. The retract actuator was an original part, but it was determined that it had previously been reworked.
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: 15,000 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 51,977 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 4, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 300,000 lb
- Seats: 217
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80A2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SLC at 11:55 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas-Ft Worth TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 9 | |||
| Passengers | 76 |
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.