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FTW88IA037

1987-12-03 · HOUSTON, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IAH

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER DRILLING OF THE CROSS HOLE IN THE SLAT TRACK BEARING BOLT, WHICH LED TO ITS FAILURE FROM FATIGUE CRACKING.

Factual narrative

DURING THE APPROACH TO LANDING THE NUMBER SIX LEADING EDGE SLAT ASSEMBLY FAILED. THE INBOARD SECTION OF THE SLAT HUNG DOWN AND BENT AFT. THE PILOT LANDED THE ACFT WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS OF COMPONENTS REVEALED THAT A SLAT TRACK ROLLER BEARING CONTAINED EVIDENCE OF CORROSION AND SPALLING. ADDITIONALLY, THE SLAT TRACK BEARING BOLT THAT HAD BEEN INSTALLED THROUGH THE ABOVE MENTIONED BEARING HAD HEAVY CIRCUMFERENTIAL GOUGES CONTAINED IN THE SURFACE OF A CROSS-DRILLED HOLE AT THE AREAS OF FATIGUE INITIATION. THERE WAS ALSO EVIDENCE OF TEARING, TYPICAL OF DAMAGE PRODUCED DURING DRILLING WITH A DULL DRILL BIT. THE AIRPLANE HAD COMPLETED A MAJOR STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE CHECK 48 FLIGHT HOURS AND 28 CYCLES PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_FTW88IA037.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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