AIRCRAFT INVESTIGATION >>>>>>> HOME PAGE

Boeing 737-200 accident report

Selection of some of the most serious accidents :

Friday 8 December 1972 United Airlines Boeing 737-222 N9031U c/n 19069/75 “City of Lincoln”

DSP Flight UA553 from Washington (DCA) to Chicago – Midway apt (MDW) with 6 crew and 55 passengers. YOM : 1968 . On approach to Midway apt. RW 31L it had to slow down behind an Aero Commander. ATC advised a go-around as it came to close behind the Aero Commander. As the crew initiated the go-around the aircraft stalled and crashed.

Airframe hrs : 7247 engines : JT8D-7B. 43 people on board died in the crash and 2 on the ground. 18 people got injured.

location : 2km from Chicago-Midway apt. (MDW) +- 15m 41°45’54.73”N 87°42’57.70”W

***************************************************************************

Saturday 22 August 1981 Far Eastern Air Transport Boeing 737-222 B-2603 c/n 19939/151

DSP Flight FE103 from Taipei – Songshan apt (TSA) to Kaohsiung (KHH) with 6 crew and 104 passengers.  Fourteen minutes after take-off the aircraft suffered an explosive decompression and disintegrated in flight. Probable cause : extensive corrosion. YOM : 1969. Airframe hrs : 33313 engines : JT8D-7A. All 110 people on board died in the crash.

location : near Sanyi township, Miaolo county +- 5km 24°24’14”N 120°44’50”E

***************************************************************************

Thursday 28 April 1988 Aloha Airlines 737-297 N73711 c/n 20209/152.

DSP Flight AQ243 from Hilo (ITO) to Honolulu (HNL) with 5 crew and 90 passengers.

During cruise flight at 24.000 ft, part of the upper fuselage skin is blown away. One flight attendant was blown out of the airplane by the explosive decompression and was lost, never found. The 737 was 19 years old and had performed no less than 89680 take-offs and landings, which comes down to 4720 per year = 12.9 per day! The aircraft made mostly small flights between the various Hawaiian islands. Boeing designed the 737-200 for 75000 cycles. The high temperatures and the salty sea air around Hawaii promote corrosion and metal fatigue. Miraculously the aircraft could continue flying and made a successful emergency landing at the 2100m long RW02 at Kahului apt., Maui

The Boeing 737- 200 was designed to the fail-safe concept that was then permitted by the FAA.

YOM : 1969 Airframe hrs : 35496 cycles : 89680 engines : JT8D-9A. 1 flight attendant died in the accident and 8 people were serious injured, and 57 with minor injuries.

location : near Maui, Hawaii +- 100m 20°53’54”N 156°25’46”W

Thursday 29 February 1996 Faucett Peru Boeing 737-222 OB-1451 c/n 19072/86

DSP Flight CF251 from Lima (LIM) to Arequipa (AQP) with 6 crew and 117 passengers. YOM : 1968. Approach to Arequipa RW09 at night in poor weather, with heavy rainfall. The airplane descended below the glideslope and impacted a hill at an altitude of 2443m.

Airframe hrs : cycles : engines : JT8D-9A. All 123 people onboard died in the crash.

location : 6.3km W. of Arequipa apt. +- 16°19’57”S 71°38’11”W (taken from the accident report).

In above table all known fatal accidents are listed, but not all incidents with no fatalities, only those with total flying hours known are listed , with the purpose to deduct the amount of years flown yearly and the average flight time.

abbreviations :

DSP = domestic scheduled passenger

ISP = international scheduled passenger

RW = runway

YOM = Year of Manufacture

Literature :

DEVELOPMENT_OF_FATIGUE_LIFE_REGULATIONS_BASED_ON_L.pdf

Aviation Safety Network > > ASN Aviation Safety Database results