Boeing 727-212 accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 31, 1998
On March 31, 1998 at about 2:14 am local time, a Boeing 727-212, registered CFRYS, suffered minor damage in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 3 people were seriously injured and 14 people had minor injuries; 177 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the No.2 engine low pressure compressor rear tierod. Also contributing to the accident was failure of the manufacturer to apply an antigallant treatment to the tierod's compressor disk lands during manufacture.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 31, 1998 · about 2:14 am local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured and 14 people had minor injuries; 177 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-212 · all 727-212s on the register
- Registration
- CFRYS · no longer on the register · serial 21349
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On takeoff roll, between 90 and 100 knots, the No. 2 engine sustained an uncontained failure. The flight crew aborted the takeoff and when informed that smoke was emanating from No. 2 engine, the crew brought the airplane to a stop on a taxiway, and the pilot commanded a passenger emergency evacuation. Examination of the engine revealed that one of 12 low pressure compressor (LPC) rear tiebolts fractured at its 4th stage disk land and was separated into the plenum ahead of the LPC. The separated tierod impacted the other 11 tierods until they eventually fractured, causing catastrophic separation of the LPC assembly between the 3rd and 4th stage rotors. Metallurgical examination of the failed tierods revealed the first tierod failed due to fatigue and the other 11 due to stress. It was further revealed that an anti-gallant treatment to the tierods that are used to bolt the 3rd through 6th compressor disks together as a unit was not present. The treatment is applied to the lands of the tierods at manufacture as specified in Pratt & Whitney Service Bulletin No. 5407.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,900 hours in all; 2,700 in this make and model; 270 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 54,355 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 8, 1998; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 199,200 lb
- Seats: 195
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLL at 2:14 am
- Destination: YYZ Toronto
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 9,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:14 am from FLL, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 3 | 14 | 169 |
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.