Douglas DC-9-32 accident near Nashville, Tennessee, January 7, 1996
On January 7, 1996 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Douglas DC-9-32, registered N922VV, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 5 people had minor injuries; 88 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight crew's improper procedures and actions (failing to contact system operations/dispatch, failing to use all available aircraft and company manuals, and prematurely resetting the ground control relay circuit breakers) in response to an in-flight abnormality, which resulted in the inadvertent in-flight activation of the ground spoilers during the approach to landing and the airplane's subsequent descent rate and excessively hard ground impact in the runway approach light area. Contributing factors in the accident were ValuJet's failure to incorporate cold weather nosegear servicing procedures in its operations and maintenance manuals, the incomplete procedural guidance contained in the ValuJet quick reference handbook, and the flight crew's inadequate knowledge and understanding of the aircraft systems.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 7, 1996 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Nashville, Tennessee · Nashville International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people had minor injuries; 88 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-32 · all DC-9-32s on the register
- Registration
- N922VV · no longer on the register · serial 47274
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff, pilots (plts) had difficulty retracting landing gear (LG), & manually bypassed LG anti-retraction system to retract gear. While climbing, they realized cabin pressurization (CP) & takeoff warning (TW) systems were still in ground mode. (There was evidence nosegear shock strut was underserviced/underinflated for cold/winter weather operation; & strut did not extended sufficiently to actuate ground shift mechanism, to release landing gear lever anti-retraction mechanism, & to shift aircraft (acft) systems to flight mode.) Using quick reference handbook (QRH) procedures, plts pulled Ground Control Relay circuit breakers (C/Bs), then noted CP & TW began operating in flight (flt) mode. En route, the flt was uneventful. Plts decided to reset C/Bs just before touchdown. They made a normal approach to runway, & on short final approach, Captain reset C/Bs. At that time, ground spoilers activated, & acft descended rapidly, striking ground tail first in runway approach light area. Abnormal procedure in QRH stated 'GROUND CONTROL RELAY C/Bs (if pulled) . . . RESET . . . .' This was listed in 'Approach and Landing' section of procedure. Acft operating manual (AOM) stated 'Reset Ground Control Relay circuit breakers during taxi . . . .' Plts stated they had not referenced AOM, nor did they notify company of in-flight irregularity. (See: NTSB/AAR-96/07 for detailed info)
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: 4,381 hours in all; 1,061 in this make and model; 167 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 1,212 as pilot in command; 512 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,776 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 7, 1996; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 108,000 lb
- Seats: 118
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 9:40 pm
- Destination: BNA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 2R, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:26 pm from BNA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 4 | 84 |
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 N922VV 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.