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ATL90IA033

1989-11-29 · ATLANTA, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ATL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION BY THE OPERATOR.

Factual narrative

DURING GEAR RETRACTION AFTER TAKEOFF, THE FLIGHT CREW NOTED THAT THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR (MLG) DOOR WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE LANDING GEAR WAS CYCLED, BUT THE CONDITION WAS NOT CORRECTED. ATTEMPTS TO EXTEND THE RIGHT MLG WERE UNSUCCESSFUL & THE RIGHT MLG REMAINED PARTIALLY EXTENDED. SUBSEQUENTLY A LANDING WAS MADE WITH THE LEFT MLG AND NOSE GEAR EXTENDED & THE RIGHT MLG PARTIALLY EXTENDED. AFTER LANDING THE ACFT WAS LIFTED FROM THE RWY & THE RIGHT MLG FELL FREELY. THE UPLOCK HOOK WAS FOUND POSITIONED UP. EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE DOOR ACTUATOR BOLTS WERE LOOSE & THE SERRATED PLATE HAD BEEN DISPLACED. THE BOLTS SHOULD BE INSTALLED WITH 25-42 FT-LBS TORQUE; INBOARD WAS LOOSENED WITH 10 FT-LBS, TWO OTHERS WERE FINGER TIGHT. ACTUATOR FITTING DISPLACED FULLY OUTBOARD. BOEING SERVICE LETTER 727-SL-32-47 APPLIES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL90IA033.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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