Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wichita, Kansas 67215
Friday, November 2, 2007 5:27 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in cruise flight when the crew detected a strange odor. When the captain opened the cockpit door, he saw smoke in the courier area. The crew donned oxygen masks, declared an emergency, and diverted to the nearest suitable airport. The crew then noticed heavy smoke coming from the lavatory and heard a motor running continuously. The captain discharged a Halon fire extinguisher into the lavatory compartment and the smoke subsided. Post-incident examination revealed the lavatory fan functioned normally, but the recirculation fan, located beneath the lavatory, had seized. The motor end ball bearing, located below the fan rotor, had failed, allowing the motor rotor to make contact with the motor stator.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure of the recirculation fan motor end ball bearing.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 11/2/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 527
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Wichita
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67215
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373900N
Event Location Longitude 0972304W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID ICT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1333
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Dawn
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) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.13
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23302
NTSB Notification Source United Parcel Service Flight S
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Wichita FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N880UP
NTSB Number DEN08IA022
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Douglas
Aircraft Model DC-8-73F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 46080
Certified Max Gross Weight 287000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 4
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name United Parcel Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1400 N. Hurstbourne Pkwy.
Aircraft Owner City Louisville
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 40223
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 UPSA
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SDF
Departure City Louisville
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 513
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ONT
Destination City Ontario
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 19 2008 9:05AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --