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09:10

Boeing 727-251 Northwest Airlines N280US 21159/1179 Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 145 0 Substantial over Madison, Florida - United States of America En route Passenger - Scheduled Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA/KTPA) Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, MN (MSP/KMSP)

While cruising at FL350 the crew heard a bang and noted the loss of no 3 engine power. A safe emergency landing was carried out at Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA). It appeared that the forward lavatory external seal was missing the safety button and the internal seal was improperly installed allowing for leakage when the airplane was pressurized. Frozen chunks of lavatory fluid had been ingested by the no. 3 engine, causing it to separate from the fuselage.



PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of company service personnel to properly service the airplane forward lavatory."



Sources:

1. NTSB Identification: MIA90IA047 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X22451&key=1 2. FAA; http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=280US 3. Aviation Week & Space Technology 8.1.90(p.32)

Images:



New York - La Guardia (KLGA / LGA)

May 1982; (c) Gerard Helmer

Photo of N280US courtesy AirHistory.net

I took this at KTPA 04 Jan 1990. This picture was shown in the USA Today and New York Times on 05 Jan 1990.

Revision history: