Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Tuba City, Arizona, March 26, 1987
On March 26, 1987 at about 6:49 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N151AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Tuba City, Arizona. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 173 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- March 26, 1987 · about 6:49 pm local time
- Place
- Tuba City, Arizona · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 173 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N151AA · no longer on the register · serial 46706
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ENGAGED IN CRUISE ON A SCHEDULED TRANSCONTINENTAL FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES, SEVERAL STAGE 1 HIGH PRESSURE TURBINE ROTOR BLADES WITHIN THE #1 ENGINE SEPARATED WITHOUT WARNING FROM THEIR PLATFORMS. THE INITIAL SEPARATION WAS FOUND TO HAVE ORIGINATED AT A BLADE FORWARD COOLING HOLE AND WAS DETERMINED TO BE FATIGUE INDUCED. THE FATIGUE WAS MOST LIKELY BROUGHT ON BY A DEGRADATION OF THE COOLING AIRFLOW PATTERN WITHIN THE BLADE INDUCED BY AN AIRFLOW LEAK NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE BLADE COOLING HOLES. THE BLADE SEPARATIONS RESULTED IN DISINTEGRATION OF THE HIGH PRESSURE TURBINE ASSEMBLY AND SUBSEQUENT ENGINE 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
- Flight time: 17,641 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 42,237 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 410,000 lb
- Seats: 295
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6K (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY at 2:00 pm
- Destination: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from LAS, 180 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 162 |
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.