Douglas DC-9-31 incident near Luke Afb, Arizona, May 28, 1983
On May 28, 1983 at about 3:39 pm local time, a Douglas DC-9-31, registered N943N, was involved in an incident near Luke Afb, Arizona (Luke Afb airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 86 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- May 28, 1983 · about 3:39 pm local time
- Place
- Luke Afb, Arizona · Luke Afb · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 86 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-31 · all DC-9-31s on the register
- Registration
- N943N · no longer on the register · serial 47647
- 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 DESCENDING THROUGH 31,600 FT THE MASTER CAUTION & THE RIGHT 'INLET FUEL PRESSURE LOW' LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE FUELQUANTITY TRANSFER CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS FOUND TRIPPED, & WHEN RESET THE FUEL QUANTITY GAUGES WENT TO ZERO. AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED TO ALBUQUERQUE ARTC CENTER & THE FLT WAS VECTORED TO LUKE AFB. THE RIGHT ENG FLAMED OUT AT 24,000 FT & RESTARTED AT 10,000 FT. THE ACFT LANDED AT LUKE AFB WITH BOTH ENGS OPERATING. AFTER BOTH ENGS WERE SHUT DOWN, THE APU CONTINUED TO OPERATE FOR ABOUT 20 MIN BEFORE IT SHUT DOWN DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. 4-5/8 GALS OF FUEL REMAINED ABOARD THEACFT. THE FLT HAD DEPARTED PHOENIX FOR FRESNO ON 5/27 WITH 15,000 LBS OF FUEL. NO FUEL WAS ADDED AT FRESNO BECAUSE THE FUEL GAUGES READ 15,000 LBS. WITH THE FUEL QUANTITY TRANSFER CIRCUIT BREAKER OUT, THE FUEL GAUGES WILL STAY IN THE POSITION THEY WERE IN WHEN POWER IS LOST; HOWEVER, THE FUEL GAUGES WILL NOT TEST WHEN THE PRESS-TO-TEST BUTTON ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL IS DEPRESSED. NO MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT'S FUEL QUANTITY INDICATING SYSTEM WAS FOUND.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 26,150 hours in all; 5,650 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20,465 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 27, 1983; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 108,000 lb
- Seats: 102
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FAT Fresno CA
- Destination: PHX Phoenix AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3R, 9,910 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 pm from LUF, 63 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 81 |
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.