Portland International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Portland, Oregon 97223
Tuesady, February 20, 1996 7:15 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While the Boeing 767 was taxiing for departure, the crew of another aircraft reported that there was smoke and flames coming from the Boeing 767 APU exhaust. The crew of the Boeing 767 shut down the APU and began coordinating with dispatch for a return to the gate. The crew was then directed by the tower to hold their position and to shut down their engines. Soon thereafter, the tower advised the crew that the Fire Marshall had called for the aircraft to be evacuated because there was still smoke coming from the APU exhaust. The aircraft was evacuated using the evacuation slides at the door exits. One passenger received serious injuries during the evacuation. An inspection of the APU showed that the fuel control unit and the gearbox shutoff valve needed to be replaced. Once those units were replaced, the APU was test run with no further discrepancies noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the passenger's unsuccessful (improper) evacuation of the aircraft. The malfunctioning APU was a related factor in that it torched and produced smoke, due to a faulty fuel control unit and/or gearbox shutoff valve, thereby prompting an emergency evacuation of the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/20/1996
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 715
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City PORTLAND
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97223
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PDX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 656 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PDX
Elevation of weather observation facility 74
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None 139
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1100
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 20 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:51AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N125DL
NTSB Number SEA96LA062
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing
Aircraft Model 767-332
Aircraft Series Identifier 767-332
Aircraft Serial Number 24075
Certified Max Gross Weight 345000
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 262
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Feb 16 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32
Airframe Hours 26272
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
Aircraft Owner Street Address RODNEY SQUARE N.
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19890
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DELTA AIR LINES
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1030 DELTA BLVD.
Operator City ATLANTA
Operator State GA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 30320
Operator Code DALA
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 PDX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LAX
Destination City LOS ANGELES
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Standing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
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 --