Boeing 747-269BC incident near Alexandria, Louisiana, April 12, 1993
On April 12, 1993 at about 2:54 pm local time, a Boeing 747-269BC, registered N9KADD, suffered minor damage in an incident near Alexandria, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 40 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INFLIGHT DELAMINATION OF THE WING PANEL SKIN. FACTORS WERE THE WATER CONTAMINATION OF THE HONEYCOMB PANEL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 12, 1993 · about 2:54 pm local time
- Place
- Alexandria, Louisiana
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 40 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-269BC · all 747-269BCs on the register
- Registration
- N9KADD · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A SLIGHT VIBRATION WAS FELT AS THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING THROUGH FL310 FOR AN ASSIGNED ALTITUDE OF FL390 DURING A DOMESTIC IFR CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. A PASSENGER SEATED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRPLANE OBSERVED PORTIONS OF THE SKIN ON A NON-STRUCTURAL WING PANEL ON THE LEFT WING PEELING OFF AND SEPARATING FROM THE WING AND INFORMED A CREWMENBER OF THE CONDITION. A PRECAUTINARY LANDING WAS MADE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT A SECTION, 48 INCHES WIDE BY 31 INCHES LONG, HAD SEPARATED FROM THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE FIXED TRAILING EDGE UPPER PANEL ON THE LEFT WING. ADDITIONALLY, A THREE INCH PORTION OF THE TRAILING EDGE ON THE LEFT FORE FLAP PANEL WAS ALSO DAMAGED, AND SEPARATED FROM THE AIRPLANE. ACCORDING TO MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL CONTRACTED BY THE OPERATOR, THE DELAMINATION OF THE HONYCOMB PANEL WAS THE RESULT OF WATER CONTAMINATION.
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: 10,000 hours in all; 9,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 775,000 lb
- Seats: 60
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EFD Houston TX at 2:21 pm
- Destination: ADW Camp Springs MD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 16 | |||
| Passengers | 24 |
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.