Boeing 737-3T0 incident near Seattle, Washington, September 27, 1997
On September 27, 1997 at about 3:49 pm local time, a Boeing 737-3T0, registered N13331, was involved in an incident near Seattle, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 134 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Separation of the ABSB-4 aileron bus cable, resulting in reduced lateral controllability of the aircraft. Related factors were wear in the cable and inadequate inspection of the cable by company maintenance personnel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 1997 · about 3:49 pm local time
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · Seattle-Tacoma Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 134 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3T0 · all 737-3T0s on the register
- Registration
- N13331 · registry record · serial 23569
- 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 crew reported that at liftoff, 'considerable aileron and rudder input' was required to maintain straight and level flight, and that when aileron input was reduced to zero, at least 5 units of left rudder trim was required to maintain wings-level flight. The crew returned to the departure airport and landed without further incident. Postflight troubleshooting revealed that the ABSB-4 right aileron bus cable was broken and the ABSA-4 right aileron bus cable was frayed, both where the cables ride over the right wing/body joint aileron pulleys. Examination of the cables at the NTSB materials laboratory concluded that the ABSB cable failure was the result of severe internal wear due to normal movement of the cable over a pulley for an extended period of time. Examination also noted several areas of severe external wear on the cables. The airplane maintenance manual, which specifies inspection of exposed cables at each 'C' check (approximately once per year), contains procedures for checking cables for broken wires and gauging the extent of external wear. An 'optional as needed' step also specifies cable replacement based on reduction of cable cross sectional area. The airplane received a segmented 'C' check, which included inspection of aileron cables, approximately 6 weeks prior to the incident.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 6,107 in this make and model; 212 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 34,633 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 15, 1997; 378 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM56-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SEA at 3:49 pm
- Destination: IAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16L, 11,900 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from SEA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 128 |
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 N13331 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA97IA219.