Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Greenville Spartanburg Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Greer, South Carolina 29650
Thursday, December 11, 2008 17:12 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While cruising at 30,000 feet, the captain and first officer initially smelled smoke in the cockpit, prompting them to initiate an unscheduled, precautionary landing at an airport along their route. While descending, the crew noticed that smoke was “pouring out” from underneath the first officer’s glare shield and instrument panel. No fire or flames were present. The captain declared an emergency and proceeded to depressurize the aircraft while descending through 10,000 feet in order to clear the smoke from the cockpit. Four tires on the left main gear burst on touchdown, and the aircraft came to rest on the runway. Ground personnel notified the crew that the right main brake system was on fire, and the crew and passengers made an emergency evacuation from the left side of the aircraft.
The DC Ground Service Tie Relay (R2-51) and Blocking Diode Assemblies (R7-50 and R7-51), located in the forward accessory compartment of the airplane, exhibited signs of overheating and smoke damage. A detailed examination of the components revealed internal damage consistent with arcing of the electrical contacts. However, due to the extent of the damage, the cause of the arcing could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The overheating and arcing of the DC Ground Service Relay and Block Diodes component for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/11/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1712 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Greer |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29650 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345344N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821312W |
| Event Location Airport | Greenville Spartanburg |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | GSP |
| 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 | 964 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GSP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 964 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 11 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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 | 153 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | ERA-Miami |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 20 2011 3:19PM |
| User who most recently changed record | schd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N924DL |
| NTSB Number | DCA09IA018 |
| 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 | In-flight |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS |
| Aircraft Model | MD88 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 88 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 49711 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 149500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 3 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 4 |
| Passenger Seats | 142 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 149 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 4 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 53506 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WELLS FARGO BANK NORTHWEST NA TRUSTEE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 299 SOUTH MAIN STREET 12TH FL |
| Aircraft Owner City | SALT LAKE CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84111 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | DELTA AIR LINES INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Atlanta |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | DALA026A |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | IAD |
| Departure City | Herndon |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1546 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ATL |
| Destination City | Atlanta |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 13 2010 12:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lovj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 22 |
| Runway Length | 11000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |