Accident · 1998-05-21
What the record says
- Event date
- 1998-05-21
- Event type
- Accident
- Highest injury level
- Serious injury
- Aircraft
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (N68043)
- Operating rule
- Part 121
- Operator
- CONTINENTAL AIRLINES INC Operator named in NTSB report
- Operated by (per NTSB report)
- CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
Probable cause
The contaminated strain gage, which resulted in shorting of the strain gage's terminal lugs which lead to excessive autopilot initiated elevator movement, and excessive elevator actuation during recovery by the captain. Contributing factors were the failure of the airline maintenance department to diagnose and correct a historical problem with the autopilot system and the manufacturer's inadequate quality assurance program.
Source: NTSB case LAX98FA169Flight crew
Flight-crew details for this event aren't in the NTSB database extract we hold (its coverage starts with 2008 events) — a gap in our data, not an absence of crew.
Facts as the NTSB records them — GroundCheck adds no judgement. Preliminary records may be revised as the investigation proceeds.