NTSB · Safety Recommendation
Safety Recommendation A-19-005
Recommendation
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Ensure the operators of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 series and 717 model airplanes have procedures that define who is responsible for monitoring the wind that affects parked airplanes and for notifying maintenance personnel when conditions could meet or exceed the ground gust criteria specified in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual.
Safety Issue and Context
This report discusses the March 8, 2017, accident involving Ameristar Air Cargo, Inc., dba Ameristar Charters, flight 9363, a Boeing MD-83 airplane, which overran the departure end of runway 23L at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, Michigan, after the captain executed a rejected takeoff. The 110 passengers and 6 flight crewmembers evacuated the airplane via emergency escape slides; however, one slide failed to inflate and could not be used. One passenger received a minor injury, and the airplane sustained substantial damage.
Safety issues identified in this report include the lack of a means to enable flight crews of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 series and 717 model airplanes to verify before takeoff that the elevators are not jammed, the need for improved in-service inspection techniques for critical rotating parts of all engines, the need for lower ground gust criteria for elevator physical inspections and operational checks by maintenance personnel for Boeing DC 9/MD-80 series and 717 model airplanes, the potential inadequacy of ground gust limit loads for the certification of transport-category airplanes, the lack of procedures for operators of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 series and 717 model airplanes to monitor the wind that affects parked airplanes, the lack of procedures for weather observers related to sign off and backup augmentation responsibilities during a facility evacuation, and evacuation slide malfunction.
As a result of this investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board makes three safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration and three recommendations to The Boeing Company.
Response History
March 5, 2024 · NTSB Correspondence · FAA
We note that, on June 14, 2022, you published Safety Alert for Operators 22001, which encourages owners and operators of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 series and B717 model airplanes to develop procedures that define who is responsible for monitoring the wind that affects parked airplanes and for notifying maintenance personnel when conditions could meet or exceed the ground gust criteria specified in the AMM. We are also aware that, on June 1, 2023, you published Notice 8900.657, which directs inspectors to verify that operators of these airplanes have incorporated the recommended procedures into their maintenance program or continuous airworthiness maintenance programs.
In addition, because notices expire after 1 year, you have incorporated this information into Order 8900.1, Volume 3, Chapter 32, section 11.
We believe these actions satisfy the intent of Safety Recommendation A-19-5, which is classified CLOSED-- ACCEPTABLE ACTION.
August 17, 2023 · Recipient Response · FAA
-From Kathryn Thomson, Deputy Administrator: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published Safety Alert for Operators 22001, Recommended Procedures for Operators of Boeing DC-9/MD-80 Series and B717 Model Airplanes When Wind/Ground Gusts Meet or Exceed Criteria Specified in the Applicable Aircraft Maintenance Manual, on June 14, 2022, which is available at the following website:
https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_saf ety/SAFO22001.pdf
We are in the final stages of updating Order 8900.1, Flight Standards Information Management System, and anticipate the publication of the corresponding notice by December 31, 2023, which is further delayed due to the need for additional internal coordination.
I will keep the Board informed of the FAA’s progress on Safety Recommendation A-19-5 and anticipate providing an update by March 31, 2024.