Douglas DC8 incident near Cincinnati (Cvg), Ohio, January 7, 2010
On January 7, 2010, a Douglas DC8, registered N803DH, suffered minor damage in an incident during pushback/tow (engine not oper) near Cincinnati (Cvg), Ohio (Cincinnati International Airpo airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the NLG cylinder occurred by intergranular rupture; coincidental to a chrome plating crack. The failure origin occurred along the inner surface of the cylinder and then propagated by stress corrosion cracking to the outer surface. A secondary crack with the same features as the primary crack was found diagonal to the primary crack. Both cracks initiated by intergranular cracking due to grinding burns caused by abusive grinding and propagated by stress corrosion cracking. Hydrogen embrittlement did not contribute to the intergranular cracking.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 7, 2010
- Place
- Cincinnati (Cvg), Ohio · Cincinnati International Airpo · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC8 73F · all DC8s on the register
- Registration
- N803DH · registry record · serial 46123
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On January 7, 2010 Astar Air Cargo reported that during of a DC-8-73 hydraulic fluid leaking from a small crack at the upper end of the nose landing gear (NLG) cylinder. The following day, during taxi to the maintenance hangar, a loud bang was heard after a turn. Further inspection revealed that the NLG cylinder had fractured. The NLG was overhauled in April 2007 by AAR Landing Gear Services (LGS) in Miami Florida. The NLG was installed on the incident airplane on January 5, 2010 and had accumulated one ground air ground (GAG) cycle prior to the failure. The NLG assembly was removed and replaced and the failed cylinder was submitted to the Boeing Huntington Beach Failure Analysis Laboratory for failure analysis. At the time of the incident it was reported that the airplane had accumulated 86,911 flight hours and 32,212 cycles. The NLG cylinder failed due to intergranular (IG) cracking at the inner surface of the cylinder coincidental to a chrome plating crack, then propagated by stress corrosion cracking. The plating crack was determined to be cleavage fracture and could have occurred during the grinding of the chrome plating to size. The fracture surfaces of the primary and secondary crack, each exhibited a combination of dark gray and orange-brown discoloration that extended to 0.95 and 0.85 inches, respectively, and towards the outer surface of the cylinder. A short distance from the outer surface of the cylinder, there was no observable discoloration on the fracture surface of the primary crack. The discoloration indicated that the fracture occurred over an unknown period of time. Etch inspection of the inner surface of the cylinder revealed evidence of circumferential grinding burns. Light circumferential scratches were also observed however their origin could not be determined.
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
What happened, in order
- Aircraft inspection event during standing
- Aircraft inspection event during standing (engine(s) not oper)
- Aircraft structural failure during pushback/tow (engine not oper) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Damaged/degraded
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Incorrect service/maintenance
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 87,107 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 2, 2010; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 355,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International CFM56/2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International CFM56/2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 3: Cfm International CFM56/2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 4: Cfm International CFM56/2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Astar Air Cargo INC
The flight
- Departed from: MIA
- Destination: CVG Cincinnati OH
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.