Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11-C incident near Jamaica, New York, January 14, 2003
On January 14, 2003 at about 7:07 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11-C, registered IDUPA, was involved in an incident near Jamaica, New York (John F, Kennedy, Intl airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 142 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A leak of potable water onto the lateral (aileron) flight control cables, and flap extension cables, which subsequently froze them in place. An additional cause was the improper procedures used by mechanics for floorboard removal which stretched the rubber hose, and led to the leak, all due to the manufacturer's lack of guidance in the maintenance manuals on floorboard removal.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 14, 2003 · about 7:07 pm local time
- Place
- Jamaica, New York · John F, Kennedy, Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 142 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11-C · all MD-11-Cs on the register
- Registration
- IDUPA · no longer on the register · serial 48426
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was at cruise altitude when the flight crew discovered that they were unable to move the control wheel for lateral (aileron) control. The rudder and elevator flight controls remained free for movement. As the flight neared its destination, the crew tried to extend with wing flaps. The leading edge slats extended, but they were unable to extend the trailing edge wing flaps. The flight landed in that condition. Post flight examination of the airplane revealed ice accumulations in all three wheel wells. The ice had accumulated on the aileron control cables, and flap extension cables, and prevented cable movement. The ice was traced to a water leak in the potable water system where a rubber hose attached to a water line fitting, under the floorboard, near the 3R door. When the floorboard in the area was lifted, upward movement of the floorboard was restricted by the rubber hose water line that was attached to the underside of the floor board. Water was observed misting from the line where it attached to the fitting. When the floorboard was lifted further, the water line pulled loose from the fitting, and water flowed out. Examination of the rubber water hose revealed it failure was due to excessive load applied to the crimped joint between the flexible hose and it end fitting. The airplane manufacturer had attached water lines to the underside of the floorboards. The airplane maintenance manuals did not contain any information about how to know if a water line was connected to the underside of a floorboard, or for disconnecting water lines attached to the underside of the floorboards prior to lifting them. There was no jammed flight control checklist in effect at the time of the incident. QAR data revealed the pilots had limited movement with the of the ailerons with the auto-pilot engaged or disengaged through roll control wheel steering (RCWS), a customer selected option for the airplane.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,606 hours in all; 2,148 in this make and model; 106 in the last 90 days; 29 in the last 30 days; 5,236 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 23, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,518 hours in all; 2,377 in this make and model; 123 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: November 3, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 625,000 lb
- Seats: 220
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: General Electric CF6-80C2D1F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: General Electric CF6-80C2D1F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 3: General Electric CF6-80C2D1F (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LIMC Milano at 9:46 am
- Destination: JFK Jamaica NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31L, 14,572 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 3°F (-16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from JFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 131 |
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.