Boeing 757-232 accident near Orlando, Florida, January 6, 1998
On January 6, 1998 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Boeing 757-232, registered N618DL, was involved in an accident near Orlando, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 188 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
inadvertent encounter with turbulence, which resulted spillage of hot coffee in a passenger's lap.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 1998 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Orlando, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 188 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-232 · all 757-232s on the register
- Registration
- N618DL · no longer on the register · serial 22908
- 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 flight encountered moderate turbulence, while in cruise flight. During the encounter, a coffee pot fell from a serving cart into the lap of a passenger. The top came off the pot, and hot coffee spilled on the passenger, causing injury.
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: 16,010 hours in all; 4,549 in this make and model; 221 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 38,719 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 5, 1998; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 234,000 lb
- Seats: 190
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 2037 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Air Lines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 10:23 pm
- Destination: MCO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; scat at 2,600 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MCO, 200 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 181 |
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.