Boeing DC-9-82 incident near San Diego, California, June 25, 1999
On June 25, 1999 at about 9:40 pm local time, a Boeing DC-9-82, registered N450AA, was involved in an incident near San Diego, California (Lindberg Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 141 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the number three bearing. The resulting oil leak from the bearing led to coke/carbon buildup, which resulted in chafing of the turbine's low-pressure compressor drive shaft on the rear compressor seal tube and subsequent fracture of the drive shaft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 1999 · about 9:40 pm local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · Lindberg Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 141 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing DC-9-82
- Registration
- N450AA · registry record · serial 49476
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The crew heard a pop after the nose wheel lifted up during rotation on takeoff and a loss of power occurred on the right engine. An emergency was declared and an uneventful landing was completed. All of the third and fourth stage turbine blades fractured at the root and no fatigue marks were noted. The second stage turbine blades fractured at 1/2 to 2/3 span. All low-pressure turbine nozzle guide vanes exhibited significant leading edge rub and had meshed with adjacent turbine blade trailing edges. The low-pressure compressor drive turbine shaft fractured approximately 25 inches aft of the low-pressure compressor. This fracture was twisted and contained a large area of displaced and galled metal; coke/carbon was observed under the galled metal. The number 3 bearing was damaged; all balls were worn with flat spots up to 1/2 the ball circumference. Spalling was evident on the inner and outer race, but no race spinning was noted. The cage was intact, but worn. No evidence of oil starvation or overheating was evident. A flow check of the oil supply system to the number 3 bearing was completed with no blockage or flow anomalies detected. An inspection by an independent laboratory could not determine a cause for the bearing failure. The number 3 bearing had accumulated 12,487 hours since new.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 34,641 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 149,500 lb
- Seats: 145
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217C (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wilmington Trust C0
The flight
- Departed from: SAN San Diego CA at 9:10 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 9,400 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from NKX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 135 |
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.