McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 N909DA

Summary

On 2 November 2009 at about 15:50 local time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 registered N909DA, operated by Delta Air Lines Inc, was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona, United States. 70 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

2 November 2009 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.4342, -112.0114

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30

Registration

N909DA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Delta Air Lines Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA044

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight crew reported that during climb to cruise they heard a loud bang, followed by a "pop" in the pressurization and loud noise within the cockpit. The first officer stated that prior to the loud bang he observed "several black dots" directly in front of him. The flight crew declared an emergency and diverted to their departure airport, where they landed uneventfully. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed an approximately 18 inch by 21 inch tear in fuselage skin located aft of the right side flight deck eyebrow window and structural damage to the upper portion of the fuselage. Bird residue and feathers were observed near the torn area of fuselage skin. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Feather Identification Laboratory performed DNA analysis, microscopic examination, and whole feather comparisons with museum study skins on the recovered residue and feathers. The analysis identified the residue and feathers as the remains of a Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis). The weight range for the species complex is recorded from 906 to 1,429 grams, with an average weight of 3.3 pounds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.