| Date: | Monday 17 September 1979 |
| Time: | 12:26 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Owner/operator: | Air Canada |
| Registration: | CF-TLU |
| MSN: | 47196/288 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1968 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 28425 hours |
| Cycles: | 26816 flights |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 45 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial, repaired |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | E of Boston, MA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Boston-Logan International Airport, MA (BOS/KBOS) |
| Yarmouth Airport, NS (YQI/CYQI) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
At 12:12 local time Air Canada Flight 680, a scheduled passenger flight to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, departed Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. About 14 min after takeoff, at an altitude of about 25,000 ft msl, the tailcone along with the aft cabin pressure access door and a portion of the aft cabin pressure bulkhead separated from the aircraft causing rapid decompression of the passenger and flightcrew compartments. The aircraft was landed safely at Logan International Airport about 38 min after takeoff. Of the 45 persons aboard, one flight attendant received minor injuries during the decompression. The aircraft's oxygen system and its elevator control and engine control systems were damaged.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was a fatigue fracture of the aft cabin pressure bulkhead which resulted in a rapid decompression of the aircraft's cabin area. This fracture initiated from a crack below the aft bulkhead access door which was discernible on the X-rays taken during the aircraft's last maintenance inspection but was not detected by the inspectors.
Accident investigation:
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Sources:
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 2 June 1983 | C-FTLU | Air Canada | 23 | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, KY (CVG) | |
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Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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