Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dfw Airport, Texas 75261
Tuesady, December 12, 1995 9:03 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After takeoff, Valujet Flight 224, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, was climbing through about 5,000 feet, when a contained failure of the #2 engine occurred. The flight crew secured the engine and declared an emergency, and the airplane was vectored back to the airport, where a single engine landing was made without further incident. Examination and teardown of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A engine revealed that a turbine blade (part number 823201) in the first stage high pressure turbine assembly had failed due to fatigue. The blade part number indicated that the leading edge of the blade had been reworked in accordance with Pratt & Whitney Service Bulletin 4345 to remove cracking. The engine had accumulated a total of 32,028 flight hours and 25,603 cycles, since last overhaul, it had accumulated 2,794 flight hours and 2,329 cycles.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fatigue failure of a first stage, high pressure, turbine blade.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 12/12/1995
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 903
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City DFW AIRPORT
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75261
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 59
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 5057
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 12 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1330
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:51PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N930VV
NTSB Number FTW96IA066
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model DC-9-32
Aircraft Series Identifier DC-9-32
Aircraft Serial Number 47723
Certified Max Gross Weight 105000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 115
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Dec 10 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 41199
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name VALUJET AIRLINES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1800 PHOENIX BOULEVARD #126
Aircraft Owner City ATLANTA
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30349
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code VJ6A
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 905
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ATL
Destination City ATLANTA
Destination State GA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2002 12:42PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --