On February 3, 1988, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating this route experienced an in-flight fire shortly before landing at its destination.

[1] As a result, regulations to prevent future incidents were adopted by the FAA, although these were not fully implemented until after the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in 1996.

In addition to the passenger luggage being stored in the mid cargo component, there was a 104 lb (47 kg) fiber drum of textile treatment chemicals.

The captain asked if it was smoke or fumes and the first officer replied, "naw, it smells electrical" and could not identify the source either.

She responded to the area by removing seat cushions and felt the floor "looking for a source of a fire" in row 15.

[1][5] An American Airlines Boeing 727 first officer who was deadheading on the airplane reported that an attendant asked him to help find the cause of the smoke, and concluded that a fire is coming from the cargo compartment.

The captain asked again if the problems were fumes or smoke, the first officer reported that the floors were beginning to get "really soft" and said that they needed to land.

[5] The deadheading first officer reported that the flooring in the middle of the aircraft was dropping out slightly, and that the pilot needed to expedite landing the airplane.