Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F incident near Nashville, Tennessee, April 26, 2001
On April 26, 2001 at about 11:29 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F, registered N8076U, suffered minor damage in an incident near Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of company maintenance personnel to install the correct hydraulic landing gear extension component, and the failure of company maintenance inspection personnel to comply with proper post maintenance test procedures, resulting in the impossibility of the LMLG to extend, and the subsequent LMLG up landing. A factor in the accident was the improper identification tag marking on the replacement component, and no marking on the component, itself.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 26, 2001 · about 11:29 am local time
- Place
- Nashville, Tennessee · Nashville International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F
- Registration
- N8076U · no longer on the register · serial 45941
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the freighter flight was normal in all aspects until the landing gear were extended for landing at destination. The left main landing gear, (LMLG) indicated "unsafe", and all attempts, using the emergency/abnormal checklists and telephone/radio-relayed communications with company maintenance, failed to extend it. An emergency, LMLG retracted landing was performed with minimal damage to the aircraft. Postcrash investigation revealed that company maintenance installed a one-way check valve in the LMLG extend hydraulic lines instead of a restricted flow valve. The wrongly installed valve had no factory specification or part number attached, and the tag reportedly removed from it at installation possessed the wrong factory specification number, and the correct vendor' s part number. The company maintenance manual states that upon completion of the valve installation, a leak and operational test of the MLG retract/extension system be performed. The valve installation mechanic and the company inspector both stated that the finished job was leak and "ops" tested.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,315 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model; 234 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days; 1,704 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 29, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,885 hours in all
- Last flight review: November 29, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Certificate: flight engineer, student
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 2,952 in this make and model
- Last flight review: January 28, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 81,335 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 18, 2001; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 328,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International CFM56-2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International CFM56-2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 3: Cfm International CFM56-2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 4: Cfm International CFM56-2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Emery Worldwide Airlines, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: DAY Dayton OH at 9:45 am
- Destination: BNA Nashville TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 11,030 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.28 inHg
- Observation at 11:35 am from BNA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.