McDonnell Douglas MD-81

Continental Airlines

The aircraft was parked at gate C115 awaiting for passengers on a flight (service CO481) from Newark to Detroit-Wayne County Airport. In unclear circumstances, a pilot attempted to make an engine run test while six employees were cleaning the cabin. The aircraft moved forward and collided with the main terminal, suffering major structural damages. There were no injuries among the seven occupants while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Scandinavian Airlines System - SAS

The MD-81 arrived from Zurich at 22:09 and was parked at gate 2 overnight with temperatures of around +1 deg. C. Approx. 2550 kg of fuel remained in each wing tank. The aircraft was scheduled to leave Stockholm for Copenhagen at 08:30 and the temperature had dropped to -0 deg C in the early morning. During the night and in the early morning clear ice had formed on the upper side of the wings, but this was not detected by the ground crew member who checked the forward part of the wing. The aircraft was fuelled with 1400 kg of fuel and was ready for de-icing at 08:30, which was done using 850l of Type I fluid. After de-icing the mechanic didn't check whether there was any clear ice on the upper side of the wings, since he had previously found none. The flight was then cleared to taxi to runway 08 and the aircraft took off at 08:47. After 25 seconds (at 1124 feet height) bangs, vibrations and jerks were perceived in the aircraft. This was caused by a no. 2 engine surge. The engine was throttled down a little, but throttle control simultaneously changed to an automatic mode which increased throttle setting with altitude (Automatic Thrust Restoration - ATR). This in turn increased the intensity of the surging. The no. 1 engine surged 39 seconds later, but this was not noticed by the flight crew. An attempt to switch on the autopilot at 2616 feet failed. At 76 resp. 78 seconds into the flight both the no. 2 and no. 1 engine failed after breakup of the stage 1 stators of both engines (initiated by high loads from the surges). The aircraft was climbing through 3206 feet at that moment with a 196 KIAS. A no. 1 engine fire warning at 91 seconds into the flight made the crew activate the fire extinguishing system. A SAS captain traveling the passenger cabin realized that there were problems and hurried to the cockpit to assist the flight crew. The aircraft was in a gliding left turn at that moment. When descending through 420 m, still in the clouds, the assisting captain gradually extended the flaps. The flaps were fully extended at 1100 feet (340 m) and the plane broke through the clouds at 980-820 feet. A field in the direction of flight was chosen for an emergency landing. The wheels were selected down and Stockholm control was informed about the imminent crash-landing. The MD-81 contacted trees at 121 knots and a major portion of the right wing broke off. The plane then struck sloping ground tail-first and slid along the ground for 110 m. The fuselage was broken into three pieces, but there was no fire.

Austral Lineas Aéreas

On final approach to Posadas-Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, the crew encountered heavy fog with visibility down to 100 meters. The crew passed the decision height and continued the approach until the aircraft struck the tops of eucalyptus trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located 3 km short of runway 01, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 22 occupants were killed.

McDonnell Douglas Industries

The airplane skidded off the right side of runway 21R while attempting a simulated hydraulic-systems-inoperative landing at the Yuma International Airport, Yuma, Arizona. The aircraft came to rest about 6,700 feet beyond the landing threshold of the runway. Although the aircraft was damaged substantially the three flightcrew members were not injured. There were no passengers. The weather was clear and the runway was dry. The aircraft was on an FAA certification test flight to demonstrate compliance with a special condition to 14 CFR Part 25. The purpose of the flight was to show that the aircraft could be controlled adequately and landed safely with a complete failure of its hydraulic systems. The aircraft landed about 1,735 feet beyond the threshold of runway 21R, and the pilot deployed the thrust reverses and applied reverse thrust before the nosewheel touched down. The aircraft began to yaw, continued to yaw after the nosewheel touched down, it then ground looped to the right, and slid off the right side of the runway. All three crew members were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.