McDonnell Douglas MD-88 N949DL

Summary

On 14 May 2005 at about 00:20 local time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88 registered N949DL was involved in an accident near Denver, Colorado, United States. 98 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.

Date

14 May 2005 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Denver, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Denver International (DEN)

Coordinates

39.7910, -104.7008

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas MD-88

Registration

N949DL

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

DEN05LA077

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the nose gear actuator resulted in penetration of the forward pressure bulkhead and a loss of pressurization.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff, the pilots heard a loud bang and the cabin lost pressurization. The pilots observed an unsafe nose gear indication. They placed the gear handle in the down position and got three green lights. The control tower confirmed that the landing gear were down when the aircraft performed a low pass. The flight made an uneventful landing at Denver. Post-accident examination by maintenance personnel revealed a hole in the forward pressure bulkhead and broken nose gear actuator. The nose landing gear actuator piston rod had worn threads, and a key locking washer in the gear assembly was sheared. The airline said that this was original equipment.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.