On February 22 1999, approximately 1237 local, a Continental VR domestic passenger flight, Flight 1823, registration N79748 encountered a #3 engine failure while cruising at FL310 on the J22 radial. The 727-227, which was then 57 nautical miles away from Corpus Christi, made an immediate descent into KCRP. Since the Boeing jet's proximity was too close to the airport, several 360 degree turns were performed. The crew then stabilized on the ILS approach for a landing at Corpus Christi's runway 31, which went without furthur incident. The pilot did not apply reverse thrusters due to the lack of heading control on the #3 engine. runway 7.
The flight, which originated from IAH Houston and had a scheduled desitnation of KMFE McAllen Municipal, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. An IFR flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under FAR 121.

The engine was examined and tested at the scene. It was found that faulty wiring within the engine chamber caused the engine failure