Douglas DC-8-71F N825BX

Summary

On 14 December 2001 at about 09:15 local time, a Douglas DC-8-71F registered N825BX, operated by Air Transport International, was involved in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. 3 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

14 December 2001 at 09:15

Classification

Incident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Anchorage International (ANC)

Coordinates

61.2000, -149.8333

Aircraft

Douglas DC-8-71F

Registration

N825BX

Category

Airplane

Engines

4

Operator

Air Transport International

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Seattle

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ANC02IA007

Nobody was injured.

The asymmetrical activation of the left wing spoiler due to a broken retraction cable during takeoff. A factor associated with the incident was the operator's inadequate inspection of the cable.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The crew of Douglas DC-8-71F airplane reported a partial flight control malfunction during takeoff. The captain reported that just after the airplane became airborne, the airplane rolled hard to the left. He said that he had to apply full right aileron control, in conjunction with right rudder, to keep the airplane from continuing to roll to the left. The crew immediately declared an in-flight emergency, returned to the airport using left turns only, and made an emergency, high speed landing, without the use of any wing flaps. After landing, the flight crew discovered that the left wing outboard spoiler had deployed just after takeoff. A postincident inspection revealed a broken outboard left wing spoiler retraction cable. An NTSB Metallurgist reported that a magnified optical examination of the broken cable revealed that the area adjacent to the fracture site was severely worn, and reduced in size. He added that many individual wire strands were worn to a knife-edge. The remaining broken strands appeared typical of overstress separations, with no indication of external corrosion. Currently, the subject cable is considered to be an "on condition" component, and has no required life limit assigned. In response to this incident the airplane's manufacture sent a safety notice to all DC-8 operators. In the notice, the manufacturer recommends that all operators review their maintenance procedures with respect to the scheduled inspection of all aircraft cables. A special emphasis was placed on the proper cable condition and cable routing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.