Event DCA18CA056

Factual narrative

On December 23, 2017 at 1221 Alaska Standard Time (AST), a Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas DC-9, N935CE, experienced a depressurization on initial climb from the Bethel, Alaska, airport (PABE.) The flight crew returned to Bethel and landed with no further incident. There were no injuries to the two flight crew members or one cargo handler on board. The depressurization resulted from a pallet jack in the cargo compartment impacting the rear pressure bulkhead, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. Inspection revealed a tie-down fastener for the pallet jack had pulled out. On December 23, 2017 at 1221 Alaska Standard Time (AkST) a Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas DC-9, registration N935CE, experienced a depressurization on initial climb from the Bethel, Alaska, airport (PABE.)  The flight crew returned to Bethel and landed with no further incident.  There were no injuries to the two flight crew and one cargo handler on board.  The depressurization resulted from a pallet jack in the cargo compartment impacting the rear pressure bulkhead, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane.  Inspection revealed a tie-down fastener for the pallet jack had pulled out.  Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Fuselage-Seat/cargo attach fitting-Failure - C