Boeing 727-232 incident near Flushing, New York, August 14, 1996
On August 14, 1996 at about 11:20 pm local time, a Boeing 727-232, registered N533DA, was involved in an incident near Flushing, New York. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 139 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a failure of the low pressure turbine assembly for undetermined reason(s).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 1996 · about 11:20 pm local time
- Place
- Flushing, New York · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 139 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-232 · all 727-232s on the register
- Registration
- N533DA · no longer on the register · serial 22046
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilots reported that shortly after takeoff, there was a compressor stall in the No. 2 engine, followed by a loss of engine power, and an abnormal oil pressure reading. The engine was shut down and the pilot made an emergency landing at JFK Airport. Debris came to rest in a residential area where a vehicle was struck. Examination of the engine revealed that turbine parts punctured through the turbine exhaust case in several locations but were contained by the fan exit duct. All the 4th stage turbine blades fractured across the airfoil just above the platform and were retained in the disk. Twelve of the twenty-five 4th stage turbine vane clusters were missing and the remaining clusters showed considerable trailing edge damage. All the 3rd stage turbine blades and vanes exhibited minor secondary damage with no blade or vane damage observed forward of the 3rd stage. The engine had accumulated 235 flight hours and 171 cycles prior to the incident since its last heavy maintenance inspection. The investigation did not reveal the exact origin of the turbine failure.
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
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 48,427 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 11, 1996; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 190,500 lb
- Seats: 157
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGA
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 13,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 132 |
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.