Boeing 737-3T0 incident near New Orleans, Louisiana, May 24, 1988
On May 24, 1988 at about 5:55 pm local time, a Boeing 737-3T0, registered N75356, suffered minor damage in an incident near New Orleans, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 45 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A DOUBLE ENGINE FLAMEOUT DUE TO WATER INGESTION WHICH OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF AN INFLIGHT ENCOUNTER WITH AN AREA OF VERY HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL. A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS THE INADEQUATE DESIGN OF THE ENGINES AND THE FAA WATER INGESTION CERTIFICATION STANDARDS WHICH DID NOT REFLECT THE WATERFALL RATES THAT CAN BE EXPECTED IN MODERATE OR HIGHER INTENSITY THUNDERSTORMS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 24, 1988 · about 5:55 pm local time
- Place
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 45 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3T0 · all 737-3T0s on the register
- Registration
- N75356 · no longer on the register · serial 23838
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG DSCNT FM FL 350 FOR IFR ARR TO NEW ORLEANS, FLT CREW NOTED GREEN & YELLOW RTRNS ON WX RADAR WITH SOME ISOLATED RED CELLS, LEFT & RGT OF INTENDED FLT PATH. BFR ENTERING CLOUDS AT 30,000', CAPT SLCTD CONTINUOUS ENG IGNITION & ACTIVATED ENG ANTI-ICE SYS. CREW SLCTD ROUTE BET 2 CELLS, DISPLAYED AS RED ON WX RADAR. HVY RAIN, HAIL & TURBC WERE ENCTRD. AT ABT16,500', BOTH ENGS FLAMED OUT. APU WAS STARTED & AC ELEC PWR WAS RESTORED WHILE DSCNDG THRU ABT 10,600'. ATMTS TO WIND- MILL RESTART WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. BOTH ENGS LIT-OFF BY USING STARTERS, BUT NEITHER WOULD ACCELERATE TO IDLE; ADVNG THRUST LEVERS INCREASED EGT BYD LIMITS. ENGS WERE SHUT DOWN TO AVOID CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. EMERG LNDG WAS MADE ON LEVEE W/O FURTHER DMG TO ACFT. INV REVEALED ACFT ENCTRD LVL 4 TSTM, BUT ENGS FLAMED OUT, THOUGH THEY HAD MET FAA SPECS FOR WATER INGESTION. ACFT HAD MINOR HAIL DMG; #2 ENG WAS DMGD FM OVERTEMP. AFTER INCIDENT, OMB 88-5 & AD 6-14-88 ISSUED TO RQR MINRPM OF 45% & TO RESTR USE OF AUTOTHRUST IN MOD/HVY PRECIP; ENG MOD WAS PROVIDED FOR INCREASED CPTY OF WTR INGESTION.
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, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,410 hours in all; 4,011 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 10,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 81 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 20, 1988; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,500 lb
- Seats: 146
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM56-3B1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Taca International Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: BZE Belize City OF at 3:55 pm
- Destination: MSY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from NEW, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 38 |
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.