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| Date: | Wednesday 11 February 1987 |
| Time: | 23:17 |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-122 |
| Owner/operator: | United Airlines |
| Registration: | N4718U |
| MSN: | 19879/139 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1971 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 52055 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W JT9D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 241 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Detroit, MI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | ORD |
| EWR | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
DRG FLT, UNITED FLT 108 RECD INFO OF A BOMB THREAT. DUE TO A SHORT TIME LIMIT, SPECIFIED IN THE THREAT, THE FLT DIVERTEDTO DETROIT & THE SLIDES WERE USED TO EVACUATE THE AIRCRAFT; 8 OF 10 SLIDES DEPLOYED NMLY & WERE USED. THE SLIDE AT DOOR 4R DIDN'T INFLATE & WASN'T USED. THE FLT ATTENDANT (F/A) AT DOOR 5R PERCEIVED THAT THE SLIDE (SLIDE/RAFT) AT THAT LCTN WAS INFLATING SLOWLY. SHE PULLED WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS THE MANUAL INFLATION HANDLE (MIH) & HEARD A HISSING SOUND. SHE THEN SENT 2 HELPERS (PAX) DWN THE SLIDE. AS THEY EGRESSED, THE SLIDE SEPD FM THE AIRCRAFT & FELL TO THE GND; 1 OF THE 2 RECD A SERIOUS BACK INJURY. AS OTR SLIDES WERE USED, 2 OTR PAX RECD SERIOUS LEG INJURIES & 16 PAX RECD MINOR INJURIES. AN INV REVEALED THE F/A AT DOOR 5R INADVERTENTLY PULLED THE RELEASE HANDLE (RH) WHEN SHE ATMTD TO USE THE MIH. BOTH HANDLES WERE MADE OF CANVAS MTRL & WERE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE. THE MIH WAS RED WITH A PIECE OF WHITE MTRL MARKED 'PULL' IN RED LTRS; THE RH WAS WHITE & WAS ALSO MARKED 'PULL' IN RED LTRS. NO REASON WAS FND FOR THE SLIDE AT DOOR 4R NOT TO ENFLATE.
Sources:
NTSB
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 June 1986 | N4718U | United Airlines | 0 | Pacific Ocean |  |
non |
| 12 February 1987 | N4718U | United Airlines | 0 | Detroit, MI | |
non |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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