Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Jamaica, New York, December 12, 1984
On December 12, 1984 at about 9:17 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N117AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Jamaica, New York (John F. Kennedy Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 189 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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 12, 1984 · about 9:17 pm local time
- Place
- Jamaica, New York · John F. Kennedy Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 189 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N117AA · registry record · serial 46517
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAXI FOR DEPARTURE, ACFT EXPERIENCED SEVERAL JOLTS TO THE RIGHT. CAPT STOPPED ACFT AND REQUESTED GRND PERSONNEL TO INSPECT LANDING GEAR. INSPECTION REVEALED RT MAIN GEAR TRUCK BEAM FAILED. METALLURGICAL INSPECTION OF TRUCK BEAM ASS'Y CONCLUDED THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY STRESS CORROSION. MANUFACTURER REVISED SERVICE BULLETIN, A32-127, ON 5/9/85 TO ADDRESS STRESS CORROSION IN AREA WHERE THE FAILURE OCCURRED AND RECOMMENDED MODIFICATION. THE FAILED TRUCK BEAM HAD BEEN MODIFIED IN OCTOBER 1981 BY THE OPERATOR.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 23,935 hours in all; 1,680 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 36,373 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 5,337 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 440,000 lb
- Seats: 345
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6K (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 13 | |||
| Passengers | 176 |
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.