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CHI88IA040

1988-01-09 · MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N618US

Make / Model
BOEING 747-251F
Year of manufacture
1975 · 13 years old at event
Engine
P & W JT9D-3A
Seats / Engines
495 seats · 4 engines
Last airworthiness date
19750829
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A80E49

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF AILERON CTL WHEN ICE FORMED AROUND AILERON CONTROL CABLES AND RESTRICTED THEIR MOVEMENT. WATER DRAINING THROUGH OPEN PLENUM DRAINS IN THE MAIN LANDING GEAR WHEEL WELL FROZE WHEN EXPOSED TO BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES AT 35,000 FT. THE FLIGHT CREW WAS ABLE TO REGAIN LIMITED CONTROL BY USING VERY HEAVY CONTROL INPUTS. THE ACFT WAS LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AFTER DIVERTING TO THE NEAREST SUITABLE AIRPORT. MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL REPORTED THAT THE DRAINS WERE INADVERTENTLY LEFT OPEN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_CHI88IA040.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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