Fairbanks International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
Tuesady, March 7, 2000 6:15 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The crew of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 airplane reported a flight control anomaly during takeoff. After an uneventful landing at the flights intended destination, the captain reported to his company maintenance personal that during the takeoff, the airplane's rotation was slightly delayed by about 3 or 4 knots, and required about 30 to 35 pounds of control column back pressure in order to complete the takeoff. He added that once the airplane was established on a standard rate of climb, there were no further anomalies noted. A flight attendant, seated at the forward "A" position, heard a loud "pinging" noise coming from just under her feet, during the takeoff. After landing, it was discovered that an additional 500 pounds of cargo and baggage had inadvertently been loaded into the forward cargo bay. The incident airplane underwent an extensive inspection and evaluation of the flight control system, and no flight control anomalies were discovered by company maintenance personnel. The operator reported that the FDR readout showed that the flight control system operated normally during the entire flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A delayed rotation during takeoff for an undetermined reason.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 3/7/2000
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 615
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City FAIRBANKS
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99709
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 644800N
Event Location Longitude 1475158W
Event Location Airport Fairbanks International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FAI
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 553 Atlantic Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID FAI
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation AST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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 117
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11914
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Mar 7 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1025
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 1 2002 11:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N949AS
NTSB Number ANC00IA034
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model MD-83
Aircraft Series Identifier MD-83
Aircraft Serial Number 53022
Certified Max Gross Weight 161000
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 148
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 4 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 26.4
Airframe Hours 29812.5
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bank of America Lease & Capital
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5555 California Way, 4th Floor
Aircraft Owner City San Francisco
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94104
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ALASKA AIR GROUP
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 68900
Operator City SEATTLE
Operator State WA
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code 98168
Operator Code ASAA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FAI
Departure City --
Departure State AK
Departure Country --
Departure Time 615
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ANC
Destination City ANCHORAGE
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 3 2002 5:28PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19R
Runway Length 5400
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --