Boeing 727-25C N116FE
8 May 1998 · Colorado Sprngs, Colorado, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 8 May 1998 at about 03:30 local time, a Boeing 727-25C registered N116FE was involved in an incident near Colorado Sprngs, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 03:30
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- Colorado Sprngs, Colorado, United States
- Coordinates
- 39.0306, -104.4795
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-25C
- Registration
- N116FE
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Memphis
- Aircraft damage
- Minor
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- FTW98IA208
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Probable cause
An inadvertent inflight collision with a flock of large birds.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Federal Express flight 1287 departed Colorado Springs, en route to Memphis, Tennessee. When the airplane was north of the airport and passing 8,500 feet msl, it struck a flock of large white birds, causing an uncontained no. 3 engine failure. There was also a loss of essential electrical power. The captain declared an emergency, returned to the Colorado Springs Airport, and made an uneventful landing. In addition to minor damage to the right side of the fuselage, visual inspection of the engine disclosed bird remains in and around the no. 3 engine. The outboard 4 inches of the first stage compressor blade separated, damaging the first and second stage compressor blades, stator blades, and inlet guide vanes. Shrapnel was ejected through the engine case at the 12 o'clock position, severing the no. 3 electrical bus wire bundle and puncturing the engine inlet anti-ice bleed air duct. The nose and upper engine cowling and thrust reverser were also damaged. The constant speed drive oil cooler was partially separated due to engine vibrations.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 727 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Aug 1998 | Boeing 727-200 | Jamaica, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Oct 1998 | Boeing 727 | Point A Pitre, France | Miami Air | Unknown | - |
| 7 Oct 1998 | Boeing 727-224 | Miami, Florida, United States | Continental Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 2 Oct 1998 | Boeing 727-200 | Quito, Ecuador | Aero Sucre | No injuries | - |
| 31 Mar 1998 | Boeing 727-212 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Aug 1998 | Boeing 727-2Q8 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Delta Airlines Inc. | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 1998 | Mooney M20F | Fort Collins, Colorado, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 28 Jan 1998 | Aviat A-1 | Buena Vista, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Jan 1998 | Cessna 182E | Steamboat Sprng, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Nov 1998 | Champion 7GCAA | Aurora, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Feb 1998 | Beechcraft 23 | Colorado Sprngs, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Feb 1998 | Enstrom F-28C-2 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |