Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-30 accident near Newark, New Jersey, April 25, 2000
On April 25, 2000 at about 11:42 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-30, registered N39081, was substantially damaged in an accident near Newark, New Jersey (Newark International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 234 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Stress rupture of the 2nd-stage low pressure turbine anti-rotation nozzle locks, resulting from inadequate nozzle lock design.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 25, 2000 · about 11:42 pm local time
- Place
- Newark, New Jersey · Newark International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 234 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-30 · all DC-10-30s on the register
- Registration
- N39081 · no longer on the register · serial 47861
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At V1, the DC-10-30's number 1 engine, a General Electric CF6-50C2, experienced a casing breach when the 2nd-stage low pressure turbine (LPT) anti-rotation nozzle locks failed. The breach occurred in the turbine plane, between approximately the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. Debris from the breach resulted in collateral damage to the numbers 2 and 3 engines, the fuselage, and the left landing gear. In May 1993, the engine manufacturer issued a service bulletin to replace existing nozzle locks with ones that had thicker posts and arms. The change required modification of the LPT case nozzle lock holes. In March 1994, the manufacturer issued another service bulletin, SB 72-1082, which introduced a newly designed nozzle lock. The new locks, which were installed on the accident engine, utilized original diameter stud shanks, but were manufactured from a different material, and did not require modification of the LPT case. There were two previously reported failures of SB 72-1082 LPT nozzle locks, discovered during routine under-cowl inspections. In one case, all of the 2nd-stage nozzle locks were broken. The nozzle segments had rotated 120 degrees within the LPT case, but the case itself was not breached. In the second case, two 4th-stage nozzle locks had failed, but there was no collateral damage. According to the engine manufacturer, the failures were intergranular, "suggesting either stress rupture or sustained peak low cycle fatigue." Safety Board examination, of the only two recovered 2nd-stage nozzle locks from the accident engine, along with a section of casing with a nozzle lock stud attached, revealed intergranular fracture features, degradation at the surface of the fracture features, and grain boundaries, typical of oxidation damage. The intergranular fractures and oxidation damage found at the grain boundaries were consistent with stress rupture. An examination of a cracked 2nd stage nozzle lock, from a comparison engine, also revealed oxidation and intergranular fracture features, consistent with stress rupture.
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: 22,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 165 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 17,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,346 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 31, 2000; 217 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 491,521 lb
- Seats: 256
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-50C2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: EWR at 11:42 pm
- Destination: BRU Brussels OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4L, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 118°F (48°C), dew point 104°F (40°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:51 pm from EWR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 14 | |||
| Passengers | 220 |
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.