Boeing incident near Jeddah, SA, March 24, 2013
On March 24, 2013 at about 6:06 pm local time, a Boeing, registered N9MMPM, suffered minor damage in an incident near Jeddah (King Abdulaziz Intl Airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
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
- March 24, 2013 · about 6:06 pm local time
- Place
- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia · King Abdulaziz Intl Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing
- Registration
- N9MMPM · no longer on the register · serial 28435
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On March 23, 2013 at 1806 UTC, a Boeing B747-4H6 airplane, 9M-MPM, experienced an explosion and fire while starting the No. 4 engine at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED). The GACA reported that, after pushback and during the No. 4 engine start, a loud explosion was heard in conjunction with a huge flame. Fire bottles were discharged. The flight was a scheduled passenger flight from JED to Kualampur, Malaysia. Postevent airplane inspection found moderate thermal damage to the right wing outboard flap trailing edge and the jackscrew fairing. There were 317 persons aboard; no injuries were reported. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investigating this incident. As the State of Manufacture of the airplane and engines, the NTSB has designated a U.S. Accredited Representative under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention on Civil Aviation and offered assistance to the GACA in their investigation. All inquiries concerning this accident should be directed to the GACA of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at: Aviation Safety Department Presidency of Civil Aviation P.O. Box 887 Jeddah 21165 Saudi Arabia Tel.: (966) 2 640-5000, 685-5509 Fax: (966) 2 685-5507 AFTN: OEJDYAYX Telex: 601093 CIVAIR SJ Cable: CIVILAIR JEDDAH
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
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Not recorded
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.