FTW90IA085
1990-03-21 · DALLAS, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport DAL
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT, WHICH RESULTED IN AN ELECTRICAL SHORT WHICH CAUSED SEPARATION OF AN ELEVATOR CONTROL CABLE.
Factual narrative
DURING A DESCENT THROUGH 14,000 FEET THE PILOT TURNED THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT ON. IMMEDIATELY AFTER TURNING ON THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT THE PILOT REPORTED UNCOMMANDED AIRPLANE EXCURSIONS. THE PIC ANALYZED THE PROBLEM AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AT HIS DESTINATION. AN INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT HAD SHORTED OUT AND SEVERED THE ELEVATOR CONTROL CABLE. THIS WAS THE FIRST OPERATION OF THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT SINCE INSTALLATION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_FTW90IA085.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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