Douglas DC-8-51 incident near Brownsville, Texas, April 30, 1998
On April 30, 1998 at about 2:00 am local time, a Douglas DC-8-51, registered N507DC, was involved in an incident near Brownsville, Texas (Brownsville/South Padre airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 4 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flightcrew experienced physical impairment resulting from an accumulation in the cockpit of carbon dioxide fumes produced by dry ice, a hazardous material, carried in the main cargo compartment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 1998 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Brownsville, Texas · Brownsville/South Padre · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-8-51 · all DC-8-51s on the register
- Registration
- N507DC · no longer on the register · serial 45855
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While taxiing to takeoff, all four occupants of the DC-8 freighter became short of breath. They donned oxygen masks, and the flight returned to the ramp. Cargo included 960 pounds of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in 198 separate 4.85-pound blocks, used as a refrigerant for frozen shrimp. Sublimation of dry ice to the gaseous state occurs constantly. When the carbon dioxide (CO2) gas concentration reaches 0.5% shortness of breath may occur, at 2%, depth of respiration increases, and above 4%, breathing becomes rapid and very deep. At sea level and 70 degrees F (incident conditions were 23 feet msl and 66 degrees F), 0.4 pounds of CO2 gas in the cockpit of a DC-8 produces a 0.5% concentration and 3.3 pounds produces a 4% concentration. In 10 minutes, at sublimation rates of 1% and 14% per hour, 960 pounds of dry ice produces 1.6 and 22.4 pounds of CO2 gas, respectively. The 1% sublimation rate is commonly used when calculating amounts of dry ice that can safely be carried on aircraft; however, it was determined for bulk shipments of dry ice and may not be applicable to dry ice used as a refrigerant. The 14% rate was determined using a single 5 pound block of ice.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,037 hours in all; 37 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,636 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 28, 1998; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 315,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Fine Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BRO
- Destination: LRD Laredo TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 050° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from BRO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.