North American NA265-65 incident near Palm Springs, California, May 10, 1998
On May 10, 1998 at about 7:20 pm local time, a North American NA265-65, registered N651MK, suffered minor damage in an incident near Palm Springs, California (Palm Springs Regional airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fatigue failure and uncontained separation of the high pressure impeller in the No. 2 engine during the takeoff roll. While the impeller showed evidence of a subsurface fatigue origin, the percipient cause of the separation was not definitively determined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 1998 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Palm Springs, California · Palm Springs Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American NA265-65 · all NA265-65s on the register
- Registration
- N651MK · registry record · serial 465-73
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
An uncontained engine failure occurred during the takeoff roll. The high pressure centrifugal impeller disk had burst, with one chunk exiting through the engine cowling. The melt and forging records for the disk were reviewed and met the required specifications, including alloy chemistry. Metallurgical examination of the disk revealed subsurface primary and secondary fatigue cracks near an area that had been reworked to remove LCF stresses in accordance with a Service Bulletin. The cracks were located opposite of each other in the seal relief undercut area. The primary fatigue origin was below the shot-peened surface near a high stress area and the secondary fatigue origin remained subsurface, with the propagation of both cracks running parallel to the surface until overload separation. The primary fracture surface could not be definitively analyzed due to plasticity and the presence of an oxide layer. No melt, forging-related or heat-treating defects were found in the vicinity of the fatigue origins; however, subsurface LCF was present. No significant hardness difference was found either in or away from the fatigue origins. There was no evidence of a subsurface occlusion. A physical resemblance between the fatigue origin and the zones of crystallographically aligned phase (texture zones) was observed in the microstructure. The shape and orientation of the origin macrostructure and/or texture may have been a contributing factor to crack initiation; however, no precipitating event or cause for the fatigue initiation was identified. Analysis reverified the Service Bulletin rework specifications, confirming that residual stress was negligible at the depth of crack initiation.
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 instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,494 hours in all; 2,316 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 6,110 as pilot in command; 1,284 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,183 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 29, 1998; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 24,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TFE 731-3R-1D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PSP CA at 7:20 pm
- Destination: STL St Louis MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31L, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 13 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from PSP
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.