Boeing 727-23 incident near Dfw Airport, Texas, March 10, 1984
On March 10, 1984 at about 7:41 pm local time, a Boeing 727-23, registered N1993, suffered minor damage in an incident near Dfw Airport, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 41 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 10, 1984 · about 7:41 pm local time
- Place
- Dfw Airport, Texas
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 41 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-23 · all 727-23s on the register
- Registration
- N1993 · no longer on the register · serial 18449
- 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 STATED THAT WHILE AT FL370, THE CABIN ALT BEGAN TO CLIMB. AN EMERGENCY DESCENT WAS INITIATED & AFTER LANDING THE PASSENGERS DEPLANED IN A NORMAL MANNER. INVESTIGATION REVEALED A 9X18' HOLE IN THE FUSELAGE ABOUT 3 FT FOWARD OF THE ACFT CARGO DOOR. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVALED THAT THE CRACK HAD OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF FATIQUE WHICH ORGINATED IN SCRAPE MARKS ON THE INSIDE OF THE SKIN IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE ORIGIN OF THE CRACK.
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: 9,000 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 50,208 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 973 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 153,000 lb
- Seats: 125
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT-8D-7 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAT San Antonio TX at 6:40 pm
- Destination: ORD Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:28 pm from DFW, 65 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 34 |
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.