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SEA91IA219

1991-08-22 · SEATTLE, Washington, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SEA

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A FIRE IN THE NUMBER 4 ENGINE, RESULTING FROM A FUEL LEAK AT THE MAIN FUEL CONTROL UNIT, DUE TO IMPROPER MAINTENANCE BY UNKNOWN/UNDETERMINED PERSON. THE L5 EMERGENCY EXIT FAILED TO OPERATEE DUE TO A BROKEN PLASTIC PULLEY GUARD IN THE SLIDE RELEASE MECHANISM.

Factual narrative

THE NO 4 ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE DURING CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF AND THE CREW ACTIVATED THE ENGINE FIRE EXTINGUISHER SYSTEM, DUMPED FUEL, AND RETURNED TO THE ARPT FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. THE NO 4 ENGINE FIRE AND A GRASS FIRE AT THE RWY T/D ZONE WERE EXTINGUISHED BY ARPT CFR CREW. AN EMERGENCY EVAC WAS CONDUCTED FROM THE LEFT SIDE AFTER THE ACFT STOPPED ON THE RWY. THE L5 EMERGENCY DOOR AND SLIDE FAILED TO DEPLOY FOR THE EVAC. EXAM OF THE ENGINE REVEALED EVIDENCE OF FUEL LEAK FROM THE MAIN FUEL CONTROL UNIT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_SEA91IA219.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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