Boeing 707 338C incident near Victorville, California, April 10, 2015
On April 10, 2015 at about 10:00 pm local time, a 1968 Boeing 707 338C, registered N624RH, suffered minor damage in an incident during enroute (climb to cruise) near Victorville, California. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fracture of one 1st stage turbine blade from a high cycle fatigue crack that originated from a break in the coating on the leading edge of the blade. The cause for the break in the coating could not be determined. Contributing to the uncontained release of turbine material was the yielding and rupture of the turbine exhaust case wall after turbine debris collected at probes in the case.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 10, 2015 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Victorville, California · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707 338C 338C, built 1968 · all 707 338Cs on the register
- Registration
- N624RH · registry record · serial 19624
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane, a Boeing 707, was being repositioned from Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station, California to Brunswick, Georgia to remove and replace the No. 1 engine, a Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B turbofan, because of excessive oil consumption. During the takeoff roll after V1 and during the climb, the No. 1 engine's exhaust gas temperature (EGT) began to increase and continued to increase towards the red line limit requiring the flight engineer to retard the throttle several times to prevent an exceedance. The flight crew leveled off the airplane and were retarding the No. 1 engine's throttle when a severe vibration developed. Smoke and debris were observed trailing from the No. 1 engine. The crew shutdown the No. 1 engine, declared an emergency, and diverted to Victorville, California where they landed without further incident. The examination of the engine revealed damage to the low pressure turbine blades as well as a hole in the turbine case that was coincident with a hole in the nacelle. The disassembly of the engine revealed one first stage turbine blade was fractured about an inch above the blade root platform. The metallurgical examination of the fractured blade that was done at both the NTSB's and Pratt & Whitney's materials laboratories revealed a high cycle fatigue fracture the originated from multiple origins along the leading edge at the interface between the coating and the base metal. The metallurgical examination also revealed just below the primary fracture a secondary crack that was of similar morphology to the primary fracture. The metallurgical examination showed that the coating chemistry and thickness conformed to the requirements. The maintenance records showed that the coating had been applied at the time of the last overhaul of the blades. Although the coating conformed to requirements for chemistry and thickness, the presence of two adjacent cracks that originated at the coating interface suggests an issue with the application of the coating. The cause of the breaks in the coating 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
- Uncontained engine failure during enroute (climb to cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (turbine/turboprop) › Turbine section › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (turbine/turboprop) › Turbine section › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,330 hours in all; 4,968 in this make and model; 92 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 4,199 as pilot in command; 1,627 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 8, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,228 hours in all; 2,378 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 1,623 as pilot in command; 957 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 8, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Flight time: 123 hours in all; 123 in this make and model
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B (turbofan); 49,599 hours total
- Operator: Omni Air International
The flight
- Departed from: NTD Port Hueneme CA
- Destination: BQK Brunswick GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.