Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 incident near Dfw Airport, Texas, December 12, 1995
On December 12, 1995 at about 3:03 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, registered N930VV, was involved 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; 59 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
fatigue failure of a first stage, high pressure, turbine blade.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 12, 1995 · about 3:03 pm local time
- Place
- Dfw Airport, Texas
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 59 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 · all DC-9-32s on the register
- Registration
- N930VV · no longer on the register · serial 47723
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff, Valujet Flight 224, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, was climbing through about 5,000 feet, when a contained failure of the #2 engine occurred. The flight crew secured the engine and declared an emergency, and the airplane was vectored back to the airport, where a single engine landing was made without further incident. Examination and teardown of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A engine revealed that a turbine blade (part number 823201) in the first stage high pressure turbine assembly had failed due to fatigue. The blade part number indicated that the leading edge of the blade had been reworked in accordance with Pratt & Whitney Service Bulletin 4345 to remove cracking. The engine had accumulated a total of 32,028 flight hours and 25,603 cycles, since last overhaul, it had accumulated 2,794 flight hours and 2,329 cycles.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,880 hours in all; 2,025 in this make and model; 228 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days; 4,280 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 41,199 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 10, 1995; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 105,000 lb
- Seats: 115
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: ATL Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 54 |
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.