Douglas DC-9-15 incident near Wichita, Kansas, December 18, 1983
On December 18, 1983 at about 5:41 pm local time, a Douglas DC-9-15, registered N968E, was involved in an incident near Wichita, Kansas (Mid-Continent airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 47 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 18, 1983 · about 5:41 pm local time
- Place
- Wichita, Kansas · Mid-Continent
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 47 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-15 · all DC-9-15s on the register
- Registration
- N968E · no longer on the register · serial 45786
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A CATASTROPHIC (UNCONTAINTED) FAILURE OF THE LEFT ENGINE OCCURRED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TAKEOFF ROLL. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED & FIRE ERUPTED ON THE TAXI BACK TO THE GATE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED A BROKEN TURBINE LONG SHAFT.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,500 hours in all; 340 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 38,764 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 91,500 lb
- Seats: 88
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1R, 7,302 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 3°F (-16°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from ICT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 42 |
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.