Summary
On October 28, 1991, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (N1820U) was involved in an incident near Las Vegas, NV. All 179 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained minor damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: RUPTURE OF A FORWARD PRESSURE BULKHEAD BECAUSE OF CYCLICALLY INDUCED METAL FATIGUE. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE INCIDENT WERE: THE OPERATOR'S DECISION NOT TO STRUCTURALLY MODIFY ITS AIRPLANE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURER'S BUT RATHER TO RELY ON THE MANUFACTURER'S ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION OF PERFORMING REPETITIVE VISUAL INSPECTION IN THE SUSPECT AREA: AND THE OPERATOR'S FAILURE TO UTILIZE AN INSPECTION PROGRAM ADEQUATE TO VISUALLY DETECT CRACK DEVELOPMENT IN A PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED SUSPECT AREA.
This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX92IA027. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N1820U.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
RUPTURE OF A FORWARD PRESSURE BULKHEAD BECAUSE OF CYCLICALLY INDUCED METAL FATIGUE. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE INCIDENT WERE: THE OPERATOR'S DECISION NOT TO STRUCTURALLY MODIFY ITS AIRPLANE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURER'S BUT RATHER TO RELY ON THE MANUFACTURER'S ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION OF PERFORMING REPETITIVE VISUAL INSPECTION IN THE SUSPECT AREA: AND THE OPERATOR'S FAILURE TO UTILIZE AN INSPECTION PROGRAM ADEQUATE TO VISUALLY DETECT CRACK DEVELOPMENT IN A PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED SUSPECT AREA.
Aircraft Information
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX92IA027