Douglas DC-10-30F accident near Memphis, Tennessee, March 6, 1998
On March 6, 1998 at about 8:00 am local time, a Douglas DC-10-30F, registered N303FE, was involved in an accident near Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
ground personnel (an equipment loader) failed to follow established written procedures (ramp safety policy), resulting in a pressurized entry door being opened before it was fully depressurized, subsequently injurying the equipment loader. The malfunctioning outflow valve was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 1998 · about 8:00 am local time
- Place
- Memphis, Tennessee · Memphis International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-10-30F · all DC-10-30Fs on the register
- Registration
- N303FE · registry record · serial 46802
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
An equipment loader attempted to activate the entry door of an airplane with a presurized cabin, before the airplane rotating beacon was turned off. As the cabin was being depressurized, the door opened, and the equipment loader was knocked off the loader. Company ramp safety policy stated to not approach an arriving aircraft until it had come to a complete stop at its parking position, the engines shut down, the wheels chocked, and the red rotating beacons turned off. Investigation revealed the aircraft had a malfunction of the pressurization outflow valve, while conducting engine shutdown procedures on the parking ramp.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,369 hours in all; 3,369 in this make and model; 77 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 204 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 56,241 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 10, 1998; 201 hours since
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-50 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAN San Diego CA at 3:40 am
- Destination: MEM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 13 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 am from MEM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA98LA096.