Boeing 727-233 N277FE

Summary

On 25 May 2001 at about 10:24 local time, a Boeing 727-233 registered N277FE was involved in an incident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 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.

Date

25 May 2001 at 10:24

Classification

Incident

Location

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Harrisburg International (MDT)

Coordinates

40.2604, -76.8905

Aircraft

Boeing 727-233

Registration

N277FE

Category

Airplane

Engines

3

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Memphis → Harrisburg

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

NYC01IA134

Nobody was injured.

The inadvertent misrouting of a wire harness by maintenance personnel, which resulted in chafing to a hydraulic line and electrical wire, and subsequent fire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While a mechanic was performing a "Predispatch Ops Check" on the airplane from the cockpit, ground personnel notified him that smoke was observed coming from the aft stairwell. Fire extinguishing agents were applied to the area and the fire was contained. Examination of the airplane after the incident revealed that the insulation on a wire to the standby hydraulic system electric motor pump had chafed through, allowing the wire conductor to contact a hydraulic system "A" case drain return line. Approximately four feet above the hydraulic line, a 1-inch by 3/16 inch hole was observed in the backside of a reservoir pressurization line, which was fed by a 13th stage bleed-air line. According to Equipment Quality Analysis Reports submitted by Boeing, the chafing between the standby hydraulic pump electrical power wire, and the hydraulic system "A" case drain return line, exposed the standby pump conductor wire and resulted in electrical arcing/puncture to the system "A" return line, followed by ignition to the mist of hydraulic oil leaking from the hole in the line. The wire bundle/tube chafing condition appeared to have occurred from inadvertent mis-routing of the wire bundle during maintenance activity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.