[3]: 6–8 [4] During a 15-minute walkthrough pre-flight inspection,[5] the first officer noted a few drops of oil coming from the "bullet" or tip of the number one (left) engine, although it was said to be "not that serious."

The pilot told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that neither problem was considered dangerous and that the aircraft was airworthy; therefore, maintenance was not informed.

[5] As the first officer was advancing the throttles and reaching an airspeed of 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph), the rear-cabin passengers and flight crew heard a very loud banging noise and experienced a blast-like sensation.

[5] The cockpit lost lighting and instrumentation and the pilot ended the takeoff by bringing the throttle to idle and engaging the brake, which brought the aircraft to an eventual stop without use of reversers or spoilers.

At 2:27 pm CDT, the pilot requested emergency medical assistance after learning of the large hole in the fuselage, engine debris throughout the cabin and injured passengers.

[5] An escaping passenger noted: "When we finally got out, we looked over there and saw the rotary blades out of the jet motor had blown and sheared the plane just like a can opener.

"[5] 36 year old passenger Anita Saxton and her twelve-year-old son, Nolan, who were seated in Row 37 near the rear of the aircraft, were killed instantly when struck by flying fragments of metal.

[7][5] After a comprehensive investigation, the NTSB determined the most probable cause of the accident to be a fracture in the left engine's front compressor fan hub that resulted from failure of the airline's fluorescent penetrant inspection process to detect a potentially dangerous crack in the fan originating with the engine's initial manufacture.