The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09-03. On September 28, 2007, about 1313 central daylight time, American Airlines flight 1400, a McDonnell Douglas DC 9 82, N454AA, experienced an in flight left engine fire during departure climb from Lambert St. Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri. During the return to STL, the nose landing gear failed to extend, and the flight crew executed a go around, during which the crew extended the nose gear using the emergency procedure. The flight crew conducted an emergency landing, and the 2 flight crewmembers, 3 flight attendants, and 138 passengers deplaned on the runway. No occupant injuries were reported, but the airplane sustained substantial damage due to the fire. The scheduled passenger flight was operating under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
American Airlines’ maintenance personnel’s use of an inappropriate manual engine start procedure, which led to the uncommanded opening of the left engine air turbine starter valve, and a subsequent left engine fire, which was prolonged by the flight crew’s interruption of an emergency checklist to perform nonessential tasks. Contributing to the accident were deficiencies in American Airlines’ Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System program.
— 120,565 samples, 56 parameters, 13:07:13.1 to 14:01:39.6.
| Parameter | Max | at | Min | at | Final | at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure altitude ft | 3,837.0 | 13:14:31.2 | 0.0 | 13:56:17.2 | 297.0 | 14:01:39.2 |
| Airspeed kts | 221.5 | 13:14:23.4 | 0.0 | 13:07:13.4 | 0.0 | 14:01:39.4 |
| Pitch attitude deg | 17.2 | 13:12:51.4 | -1.1 | 13:11:44.4 | -0.3 | 14:01:39.4 |
| Roll attitude deg | 179.7 | 13:56:15.8 | -13.0 | 13:16:00.8 | -0.3 | 14:01:38.8 |
| Vertical acceleration g | 1.7 | 13:32:12.0 | 0.5 | 13:14:20.1 | 1.0 | 14:01:39.6 |
| Engine 1 N1 %RPM | 999.0 | 13:29:37.6 | 20.6 | 13:07:37.6 | 999.0 | 14:01:39.6 |
| Engine 2 N1 %RPM | 90.4 | 13:13:34.6 | 21.4 | 13:07:14.6 | 34.9 | 14:01:38.6 |
| Magnetic heading deg | 359.6 | 13:11:43.1 | 0.0 | 13:13:34.1 | 304.4 | 14:01:39.1 |
| Time | Event | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 13:07:13.0 CDT | FDR powered and recording for the event flight; takeoff flap 8.4 degrees | 3 |
| 13:12:22.4 CDT | Gear weight-on-wheels transitioned from Ground to Air (takeoff) | 3 |
| 13:13:54.7 CDT | Engine 1 fire warning transitioned from Off to On, 1 minute 32 seconds after liftoff | 3 |
| 13:16:59.0 CDT | FDR lost power (first gap, 22 seconds) | 3 |
| 13:17:21.0-13:17:24.5 CDT | FDR powered for 3.5 seconds, then lost power again (second gap, 12 minutes 12.5 seconds) | 3 |
| 13:29:37.0 CDT | FDR powered and recording again; Eng1 N1 and N2 recorded out-of-range values (set to 999) from this point | 3 |
| 13:32:19.4 CDT | Gear WOW transitioned from Air to Ground (landing) with flaps at 6.0 degrees; flap position then continued increasing for 56 seconds to 27.1 degrees and stayed there | 3 |
| 14:01:39.6 CDT | End of FDR data | 3 |
1694 transcribed utterances from 12:29:55.8 to 14:28:40.4, 30 sources. Final entries:
| 14:28:31.7 | CAM-2 | yeah it would it woulda popped. |
| 14:28:33.7 | CAM-? | it'll tell ya on the yoke clip. |
| 14:28:35.3 | CAM-2 | look at you guys man. |
| 14:28:38.1 | CAM-2 | voice recorder F-six. |
| 14:28:40.4 | CAM-1 | (okay) there we go. |
Docket: data.ntsb.gov/Docket/?NTSBNumber=DCA07MA310. This brief is an analytical aid assembled from public records; it is not an investigative finding.