Boeing 737-300 incident near Wichita, Kansas, March 17, 1990
On March 17, 1990 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N17317, suffered minor damage in an incident near Wichita, Kansas (Wichita Mid-Continent airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person had minor injuries; 135 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF LEVEL ARM.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 1990 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Wichita, Kansas · Wichita Mid-Continent
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 135 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N17317 · registry record · serial 23368
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BOEING 737-300 ABORTED TAKEOFF FROM WICHITA, KANSAS WHEN THE RIGHT ENGINE HAD POWER LOSS AND WAS ON FIRE. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE TEARDOWN RESULTS REVEALED ENGINE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A DISENGAGED LEVER ARM OF VARIABLE STATOR VANE ON STAGE NEAR HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR AREA RESULTING IN HIGH SYCLE FATIGUE OF A STAGE 1 BLADE IN HPC. AN EMERGENCY SLIDE UPPER GIRT BAR SUFFERED OVERLOAD TYPE FAILURE DURING EVACUATION.
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: 7,680 hours in all; 1,025 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,118 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 9, 1990; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 136
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM56-3-1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Continental Airlines
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 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from ICT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 129 |
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 MKC90IA070.