NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA92IA020
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE OVERFILLING OF THE FORWARD LAVATORY DURING SERVICING AND THE FAILURE TO REPLACE THE FILL/RINSE LINE CAP AFTER SERVICING BY THE GROUND SERVICE PERSONNEL WHICH RESULTED IN THE LAVATORY VENTING FLUID THROUGH THE FILL/RINSE LINE DURING FLIGHT AND THE SUBSEQUENT ICE FORMATION AND INGESTION OF ICE INTO NUMBER THREE ENGINE.
Factual narrative
GROUND PERSONNEL SERVICED FORWARD LAVATORY JUST BEFORE FLIGHT. FLIGHT ATTENDANT STATED FLUID WAS VISIBLE IN UPPER TOILET AREA OF FORWARD LAVATORY AFTER SERVICING INDICATING IT HAD BEEN OVERFILLED. ENROUTE NUMBER 3 ENGINE FAILED AND WAS SHUTDOWN. FLIGHT DIVERTED TO MIAMI. ON ARRIVAL A BLUE STREAK WAS FOUND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT BEGINNING AT THE FORWARD LAVATORY SERVICE DOOR AND ENDING AT THE INLET TO NUMBER 3 ENGINE. THE FORWARD LAVATORY SERVICE DOOR WAS FOUND CLOSED AND THE FILL/RINSE LINE CAP WAS MISSING WHEN THE DOOR WAS OPENED. THE FILL/RINSE LINE CHECK VALVE WAS FOUND STUCK OPEN. WHEN A CAP WAS INSTALLED ON THE LINE NO LEAKAGE OCCURRED. THE LAVATORY DRAIN LINE DID NOT LEAK. NUMBER 3 ENGINE HAD SUSTAINED FAN DAMAGE DUE TO INGESTION OF SOFT MATTER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_MIA92IA020.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Evaluation of an Analytical Simulation of an Airplane with Tailplane Icing by Comparison to Flight Data
This report presents the assessment of an analytical tool developed as part of the NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program. The analytical tool is a specialized simulation program called TAILSM4 which was de…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Publication (TP)
NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program: Flight Test Report
This report presents results from research flights that explored the characteristics of an ice-contaminated tailplane using various simulated ice shapes attached to the leading edge of the horizontal …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
[Tail Plane Icing]
The Aviation Safety Program initiated by NASA in 1997 has put greater emphasis in safety related research activities. Ice-contaminated-tailplane stall (ICTS) has been identified by the NASA Lewis Icin…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Airport Policing in Pakistan: Structure, Training, and Issue
Airports are strategically and economically important installations of any country. Airports are the gateway of any country and any incidents at these gateways may harm the very aspects of a country i…
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