Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Indianapolis International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Indianapolis, Indiana 46241
Thursday, January 24, 2002 14:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A passenger suffered a broken wrist when he fell off the side of the slide during an emergency evacuation. The airplane was positioned near the end of the runway with the engines shut down during an air traffic control delay. After approximately 15 minutes, the flightcrew was informed by ground control that they should start their engines, as they would probably be released for takeoff soon. The captain reported they were unable to start the right engine. They performed the "clearing procedure" and then went on to start the left engine with no problem. They then attempted to start the right engine again. Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) personnel were parked near the airplane reported to air traffic control that there were smoke and flames coming from the right engine. There were no fire warning indications in the cockpit. The flightcrew performed the ENGINE FIRE checklist and subsequently discharged both fire suppressant bottles into the engine. The flightcrew eventually shut down both engines and ARFF requested that the flightcrew begin evacuating the airplane. All of the passengers were directed to the front of the airplane and the evacuation took place using the 1L and 1R doors. A witness reported that the injured passenger stepped out of the airplane onto the slide. The passenger bounced down the slide and went over the side of the slide approximately four to five feet above the ground. The investigation revealed the engine start fuel scheduling for the Fuel Control Unit was high. In addition, the ignition exciter box and igniter plugs were tested. The ignition exciter box was found to operate intermittently on the D.C. circuit which would be used for engine start.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The passenger fell off the side of the slide during the emergency evacuation. Factors were the emergency evacuation and the erratic ignition exciter.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/24/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Indianapolis |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 46241 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Indianapolis International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IND |
| 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 | 797 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1355 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IND |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 797 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| 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 | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 74 |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12173 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NW Airlines |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 24 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1428 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 28 2002 10:10AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Indianapolis, IN FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N754NW |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA069 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | McDonnell Douglas |
| Aircraft Model | DC-9-41 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 47178-323 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 115000 |
| 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 | 120 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 1 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 76188 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Northwest Airlines, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5101 Northwest Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Saint Paul |
| Aircraft Owner State | MN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 55111 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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 | NWAA |
| 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 | IND |
| Departure City | Indianapolis |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | DTW |
| Destination City | Detroit |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Standing - starting engine(s) |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 9 2002 8:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |