McDonnell Douglas DC9-32 N203ME

Summary

On 31 January 2000 at about 22:45 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC9-32 registered N203ME was involved in an incident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. 91 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.

Date

31 January 2000 at 22:45

Classification

Incident

Location

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

General Mitchell Intl Apt (MKE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas DC9-32

Registration

N203ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

Unk

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

CHI00IA087

Nobody was injured.

the chafing of the internal water heater wire. A factor was the missing ground strap.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During passenger boarding the flight crew was advised of smoke coming from the passenger lavatory. The flight crew instructed the flight attendants to evacuate the aircraft. All passengers and crew members exited normally. Inspection of the aircraft following the incident revealed that wiring internal to the water heater was discolored and melted adjacent to a terminal within the unit. The wire exhibited evidence of chaffing in the area next to the terminal screw. Additionally, it was found that the water heater installation was missing a grounding strap. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector in conjunction with Midwest Express personnel determined that the missing grounding strap prevented the circuit breaker for the water heater from tripping. Subsequent to the incident, Midwest Express Airlines has inspected their DC9 aircraft to insure that the ground strap is present.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.