Airbus Industrie A-300-605R incident near Los Angeles, California, October 19, 1993
On October 19, 1993 at about 5:01 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A-300-605R, registered N41063, suffered minor damage in an incident near Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles International 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
a separation of the number 6 stage high pressure compressor disk for an undetermined reason.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 1993 · about 5:01 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 86 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A-300-605R · all A-300-605Rs on the register
- Registration
- N41063 · no longer on the register · serial 506
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FOLLOWING TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING THROUGH 6,200 FEET MSL OVER THE OCEAN WHEN THE CREW HEARD A LOUD BANG AND THE NUMBER ONE ENGINE FIRE ANNUNCIATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE ENGINE POWER DECREASED TO ZERO. THE ENGINE WAS SECURED AND THE FLIGHT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER PROBLEM AT THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. THERE WAS NO FIRE AND THE PASSENGERS DISEMBARKED AT THE TERMINAL GATE. EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE HAD SUSTAINED AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR. THE 6TH STAGE DISK OF THE 3-TO-9 COMPRESSOR SPOOL WAS MISSING COMPLETELY FROM THE ENGINE. THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE. SIMILAR DISK FAILURES HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO A PHENOMENON KNOWN AS DWELL TIME FATIGUE. THIS MAY OCCUR WHEN TITANIUM CRYSTALS FORM INTO MICROSTRUCTURE COLONIES DURING THE FORGING AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE DISK HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED AND THE EXACT FAILURE MODE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED.
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: 20,000 hours in all; 1,800 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,905 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 24, 1993; 175 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 337,800 lb
- Seats: 267
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80C2A5 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines
The flight
- Destination: MIA Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 pm from LAX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 10 | |||
| Passengers | 76 |
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 N41063 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.