Airbus Industrie A300 B4-203 incident near Los Angeles, California, August 24, 1997
On August 24, 1997 at about 8:50 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A300 B4-203, registered N862PA, 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; 265 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Separation of the landing gear tire tread and subsequent ingestion of the tread into the intake of the engine.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 1997 · about 8:50 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 265 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A300 B4-203 A300 B4-20 · all A300 B4-203s on the register
- Registration
- N862PA · registry record · serial 211
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After feeling a vibration in the aircraft during the takeoff roll, the cockpit crew heard a loud bang and the right-hand (number 2) engine failed. The captain rejected the takeoff and stopped the airplane on the remaining runway. Postincident examination revealed that the tire tread was absent from the number 3 tire on the right-hand main landing gear. One piece of black rubber resembling the tire tread was found lodged in the fan outlet guide vanes. Black smearing marks were observed on several of the fan blades and bent stator vanes of the engine, which also resembled the tire tread material. There was substantial damage to the engine and minor airframe damage.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 351,000 lb
- Seats: 265
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-50C2 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAX at 8:50 pm
- Destination: JFK Jamaica NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24L, 10,285 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from LAX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 254 |
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 N862PA 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.