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ATL90FA135

1990-06-21 · CHARLESTON, South Carolina, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CHS

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER UTILIZATION OF THE EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT.

Factual narrative

WHILE PASSING 10,000 FEET MSL ON THE DESCENT FOR A NIGHT LANDING, THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE FIRE WARNING LIGHT AND BELL ACTIVATED. FOLLOWING ACCOMPLISHMENT OF ALL CHECKLIST PROCEDURES, THE FIRE WARNING INDICATIONS REMAINED ON. THE CAPTAIN ORDERED AN EMERGENCY EVACUATION ON THE RUNWAY AFTER THE AIRPLANE LANDED. DURING THE EVACUATION, ONE PASSENGER WAS KNOCKED OFF OF THE WING BY AN OVERZEALOUS PASSENGER AND WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. ANOTHER PASSENGER WITH TWO SMALL CHILDREN REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FROM THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT. WHILE THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WAS SEEKING HELP, THE PASSENGER PUT ONE CHILD ON THE SLIDE WITHOUT WAITING FOR ASSISTANCE, AND THE CHILD RESISTED. THE CHILD FELL FROM THE SLIDE AND WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. POST-FLIGHT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED A FAULTY FIRE DETECTION ELEMENT ON THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE, AND NO EVIDENCE OF INFLIGHT FIRE WAS OBSERVED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL90FA135.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.