Boeing 727-224 accident near Miami, Florida, October 7, 1998
On October 7, 1998 at about 11:09 am local time, a Boeing 727-224, registered N66734, was substantially damaged in an accident near Miami, Florida (Miami International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 81 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The catastrophic failure of the 8th stage high pressure compressor disk from cadmium embrittlement as a result of improper adherence to the prescribed plating procedures and requirements by the company that last plated the disk. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the engine repair company to provide adequate surveillance and oversight of the plating company, the engine repair companies use of an unauthorized repair vendor, the plating company, and the engine repair companies failure to inform the aircraft operator that they had used the plating company which was not on the aircraft operators vendor list. Also contributing to the accident was the aircraft operators failure to audit the engine repair company to the level of detail that they would have discovered the engine repair company was using an unauthorized repair vendor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 1998 · about 11:09 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 81 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-224 · all 727-224s on the register
- Registration
- N66734 · no longer on the register · serial 20663
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the initial part of the takeoff, prior to the engines reaching takeoff power, the No. 2 engine had an uncontained failure of the 8th stage HPC disk. The takeoff was aborted, the passengers were bussed to the terminal, and the aircraft was towed to the gate. Metallurgical examination of the 8th stage HPC disk showed that a significant amount of cadmium was present on steel base metal in the area of the fracture surfaces and the surface had an inadequate nickel coating. The disk had accumulated 359 flight hours since overhaul. The disk had been nickel-cadmium plated in March 1996 and was stored until February 1998, when it was installed in the accident engine during repair. Other HPC disk installed in the accident engine, which had been nickel-cadmium plated by the same company as the 8th stage HPC disk, were also found to have inadequate nickel coating. During nickel-cadmium plating the nickel acts as a barrier coating between the cadmium and the steel part to prevent cadmium from contacting the steel part, which can cause cadmium embrittlement.
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: 14,900 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model; 226 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 7,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,503 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 1, 1998; 312 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 169,200 lb
- Seats: 156
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Continental Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MIA at 11:09 am
- Destination: IAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 10,502 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,900 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 am from MIA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 75 |
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.