Boeing 737-300 incident near Kenton, Delaware, July 26, 1988
On July 26, 1988 at about 11:08 pm local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N14336, suffered minor damage in an incident near Kenton, Delaware. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 50 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- July 26, 1988 · about 11:08 pm local time
- Place
- Kenton, Delaware · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 50 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N14336 · no longer on the register · serial 23574
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A FLAMEOUT OF THE #1 ENGINE OCCURRED DUE TO WATER INGESTION WHEN THE AIRCRAFT PENETRATED A VIP LEVEL 5 THUNDERSTORM AND ENCOUNTERED HEAVY RAIN WHILE DESCENDING WITH THE THROTTLES A FLIGHT IDLE. THE ENGINE SUFFERED OVERTEMPERATURE DAMAGE TO THE TURBINE SECTION DURING THE SUBSEQUENT WINDMILLING START. THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO DESCEND IN PRECIPITATION WITH THE ENGINES AT IDLE, DESPITE THE COPILOT'S WARNING THAT IDLE DESCENT WAS CONTRARY TO RECENTLY PUBLISHED PROCEDURES WHICH REQUIRED MAINTAINING A MINIMUM OF 45% N1 RPM. THE PRECIPITATION INDUCED FLAMEOUT PHENOMENA HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED IN PREVIOUS INCIDENTS, AND CORRECTIVE PROCEDURES WERE ISSUED BY THE FAA, THE MANUFACTURERS, AND THE CARRIER, PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRENCE.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,100 hours in all; 1,120 in this make and model; 162 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 5,600 as pilot in command; 1,600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,420 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 125
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM-56-3 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MMUN Cancun
- Destination: EWR Newark NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 44 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N14336 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.