McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 N205ME

Summary

On 9 April 1999 at about 14:30 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 registered N205ME was involved in an incident near Dubuque, Iowa, United States. 91 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 April 1999 at 14:30

Classification

Incident

Location

Dubuque, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

42.5003, -90.6906

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32

Registration

N205ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Milwaukee → Omaha

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99IA136

Nobody was injured.

the frozen elevator control. Factors to the incident were the rain and the low temperature.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane departed in rain with a surface temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon reaching cruise altitude, the flight crew discovered that the elevator control '...was found to be frozen and would not move.' The pilot said that the aircraft was flown using primary and alternate trim until a descent was made to 'warmer air', and the '... elevator thawed out...' and normal control was regained. An inspection of the aircraft after the incident failed to reveal any anomalies with respect or the aircraft or aircraft systems. On two other occasions, Midwest Express Airlines (MWEA) DC9 aircraft have experienced elevator control difficulties. On these occurrences, the aircraft departed in rain with temperatures of 46 degrees Fahrenheit and 39 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. On one of the occurrences, MWEA maintenance personnel found ice accretions in the elevator control bay of the vertical stabilizer.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.