Boeing 747-136 GAWND
9 May 1988 · Chicago, Illinois, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 9 May 1988 at about 21:35 local time, a Boeing 747-136 registered GAWND, operated by British Airways, was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois, United States. 304 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 21:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Nearest airport
- Chicago O'hare (ORD)
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-136
- Registration
- GAWND
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 4
- Operator
- British Airways
- Operating rule
- Part 129: Foreign
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- London → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI88FA110
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 304 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 304 |
Probable cause
FAILURE OF THE NUMBER THREE FLAP TRACK DUE TO STRESS CORROSION CRACKING. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS FAILURE ARE INSUFFICIENT DESIGN OF THE MEMBER AND INADEQUATE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES TO DETECT CRACKS BEFORE THEY PROPAGATE TO A CRITICAL LENGTH.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE ACFT WAS ON FINAL APPROACH TO CHICAGO O'HARE INTER'L AIRPORT WHEN A STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF THE NUMBER THREE FLAP TRACK OCCURRED. THE ACFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WING, LEFT INBOARD FLAP ASSEMBLY, LEFT INBOARD SPOILERS AND SPOILER SUPPORT BEAM. THE PILOT EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT UNCOMMANDED ROLL AND YAW, BUT REGAINED CONTROL OF THE ACFT AND EXECUTED AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING. THE INVESTIGATION HAS REVEALED A HISTORY OF FLAP TRACK CRACKING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS CORROSION AND DESIGN INADEQUACY. A DESIGN CHANGE OF THE MEMBER WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN 1971 BY THE MANUFACTURER, BUT FLAP TRACKS OF THE EARLIER DESIGN WERE ALLOWED TO REMAIN IN SERVICE ON 239 AIRCRAFT. THE AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES AND SERVICE BULLETINS APPLICABLE TO THIS PARTICULAR STRUCTURAL MEMBER ARE NOT ADEQUATE IN METHODOLOGY AND PERIODICITY TO ENSURE CRACK DETECTION, AND DO NOT REQUIRE INSPECTION FOR THE CAUSE OF THE CRACK-CORROSION PITS.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 747 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1988 | Boeing 747-123 | Nr Tokyo, Japan | United Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 1988 | Boeing 747-200 | Jamaica, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Dec 1988 | Boeing 747SP-21 | Midway Islands, United States | United Airlines | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 1988 | Boeing 747 | Schiphol-Amster, Netherlands | KLM | Unknown | - |
| 21 Dec 1988 | Boeing 747-121 | Lockerbie, United Kingdom | Pan AM | Fatal | 259 |
| 16 Dec 1988 | Boeing 747-124 | Hong Kong | Flying Tiger | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct 1988 | Boeing B-727-200A | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Northwest Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 9 Oct 1988 | Beechcraft 55B | Quincy, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Oct 1988 | Cessna 172 | Carbondale, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jan 1988 | Cessna T310R | Urbana, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 16 Oct 1988 | Piper PA-28-151 | Fairview Hts., Illinois, United States | Hurst Flight Training, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 3 Feb 1988 | Cessna 421A | Wheeling, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |