Boeing 727-233 incident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May 25, 2001
On May 25, 2001 at about 10:24 am local time, a Boeing 727-233, registered N277FE, suffered minor damage in an incident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Harrisburg International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadvertent misrouting of a wire harness by maintenance personnel, which resulted in chafing to a hydraulic line and electrical wire, and subsequent fire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 25, 2001 · about 10:24 am local time
- Place
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania · Harrisburg International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-233 · all 727-233s on the register
- Registration
- N277FE · registry record · serial 22042
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While a mechanic was performing a "Predispatch Ops Check" on the airplane from the cockpit, ground personnel notified him that smoke was observed coming from the aft stairwell. Fire extinguishing agents were applied to the area and the fire was contained. Examination of the airplane after the incident revealed that the insulation on a wire to the standby hydraulic system electric motor pump had chafed through, allowing the wire conductor to contact a hydraulic system "A" case drain return line. Approximately four feet above the hydraulic line, a 1-inch by 3/16 inch hole was observed in the backside of a reservoir pressurization line, which was fed by a 13th stage bleed-air line. According to Equipment Quality Analysis Reports submitted by Boeing, the chafing between the standby hydraulic pump electrical power wire, and the hydraulic system "A" case drain return line, exposed the standby pump conductor wire and resulted in electrical arcing/puncture to the system "A" return line, followed by ignition to the mist of hydraulic oil leaking from the hole in the line. The wire bundle/tube chafing condition appeared to have occurred from inadvertent mis-routing of the wire bundle during maintenance activity.
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
Crew member
No details recorded.
Co-pilot
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 33,964 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 5, 2001; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 209,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 5:00 pm
- Destination: MDT Harrisburg PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 150° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from MDT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N277FE the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.