Boeing 737-3B7 incident near Portland, Maine, November 2, 1995
On November 2, 1995 at about 11:28 pm local time, a Boeing 737-3B7, registered N373US, suffered minor damage in an incident near Portland, Maine (Portland Int'L Jetport airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 62 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a bird strike during takeoff, which resulted in failure of several fan blades in the right engine and a partial loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 2, 1995 · about 11:28 pm local time
- Place
- Portland, Maine · Portland Int'L Jetport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 62 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3B7 · all 737-3B7s on the register
- Registration
- N373US · registry record · serial 22952
- 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 rotation, on the takeoff roll, the right engine of a Boeing 737-3B7, ingested a bird. Several fan blades broke; however, there was no uncontained failure of the blades. There was no fire and the engine continued to run until shut down by the flight crew, after which the pilot returned for a single-engine landing. Feathers recovered from the engine belonged to a bird with a weight between 2.7 to 6.4 pounds, and a average weight of 3.8 pounds. The engine performed within the limits of its certification criteria.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,140 hours in all; 271 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 135,500 lb
- Seats: 128
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM56-3B2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PWM at 11:28 pm
- Destination: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 11, 6,800 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 1.8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from PWM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 56 |
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 N373US 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.