Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
The William B Hartsfield Atlan Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Atlanta, Georgia 30320
Friday, March 5, 2004 15:39 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the captain, during the climb out from runway 26L at approximately 200 feet, the number 6 display unit on the pilot's instrument panel went blank and the engine alert display left generator off alert displayed. The first officer requested radar vectors from the Atlanta Tower. After contacting the tower the airplane had a complete electrical power failure, and communications with the Atlanta Tower was lost. Emergency electrical power was restored shortly after the electrical failure. The flight attendants advised the captain that there was smoke in the aft part of the cabin area. The captain and first officer "smelled an electrical burning smell", and declared an emergency. The captain returned to the airport and made an emergency landing, and evacuated the airplane on runway 9R. Examination of the Power Conversion Distribution Unit revealed that the tantalum capacitor and the permanent magnet generator input transformer failed. The failed transformer was the apparent source of the smoke in the cabin. No other anomalies were reported by the captain.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the tantalum capacitor and the permanent magnet generator input transformer which resulted in total electrical system failure.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 3/5/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1539 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Atlanta |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30320 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 333825N |
| Event Location Longitude | 84:5:7ww |
| Event Location Airport | THE WILLIAM B HARTSFIELD ATLAN |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ATL |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 1026 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1539 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KATL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1034 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2194 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 118 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17387 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 5 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1600 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 30 2005 6:20AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Atlanta SDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N978AT |
| NTSB Number | ATL04IA085 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Boeing |
| Aircraft Model | 717-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 55037 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 67000 |
| 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 | 117 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | AIRTRAN AIRWAYS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 9955 Airtran Blvd. |
| Operator City | Orlando |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 32827 |
| Operator Code | ZZDA |
| 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 | ATL |
| Departure City | ATLANTA |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1405 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MSP |
| Destination City | MINNEAPOLIS |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing after takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 9R |
| Runway Length | 9001 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |