McDonnell Douglas DC10-30F N310FE
9 April 1997 · Memphis, Tennessee, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 9 April 1997 at about 05:16 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC10-30F registered N310FE, operated by Federal Express Corporation, was involved in an accident near Memphis, Tennessee, United States. 6 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 05:16
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Memphis, Tennessee, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.0700, -89.9897
- Aircraft
- McDonnell Douglas DC10-30F
- Registration
- N310FE
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- Federal Express Corporation
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- San Juan → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- MIA97LA125
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Probable cause
A stall buffet or a high speed buffet event which occurred at an undetermined time.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Upon arrival in Memphis the aircraft was found to have wrinkling damage to the outboard elevators and elevator counter weights. The flightcrew reported they had no turbulence or other events during the flight that would have caused the damage. Readout of the 25 hours of data contained on the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) did not show any events that would have caused the damage. Examination of the elevators showed no material defects or preexisting damage. The aircraft manufacturer stated they have seen similar damage to elevators caused by stall buffet at high altitude or high speed buffet at high altitude. The aircraft received an 'A' check while on the ground prior to departure for Memphis and no discrepancies with the elevators were noted. The flight engineer reported that he did notice any discrepancies with the elevators during preflight inspection on the flight to Memphis.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other McDonnell Douglas DC10 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1995 | McDonnell Douglas DC10-10 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Nov 1993 | McDonnell Douglas DC10-30 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Viasa | Unknown | - |
| 4 Apr 2006 | McDonnell Douglas DC10 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | Fedex Express | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jun 2006 | McDonnell Douglas DC10-10F | Managua, Nicaragua | Arrow Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 19 May 2008 | McDonnell Douglas DC10 | Pacific Ocean, United States | Omni Air International | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Jan 1983 | McDonnell Douglas DC10-10 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1997 | Cessna 177RG | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jul 1997 | Cessna 172M | Athens, Tennessee, United States | Michael B. Guest | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 1997 | Cessna 150L | Portland, Tennessee, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Avid IV | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Aug 1997 | Hughes 269A | Dandridge, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1997 | Piper PA-28-140 | Milan, Tennessee, United States | Stephen Aldred | Minor injuries | - |