Boeing 747-251F incident near Anchorage, Alaska, October 15, 2000
On October 15, 2000 at about 8:35 am local time, a Boeing 747-251F, registered N629US, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Rupture and disintegration of main landing gear tires during the takeoff roll, and subsequent damage to the right main gear hydraulic brake system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2000 · about 8:35 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-251F · all 747-251Fs on the register
- Registration
- N629US · no longer on the register · serial 22388
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A Boeing 747 cargo airplane began to taxi for departure. The crew hear a 'thump' type of noise, but attributed the noise to the airplane tires running over a rut. The captain continued taxiing. During the takeoff roll, about 130 knots indicated airspeed (IAS), the captain heard and felt another 'thump', followed by a substantial vibration. The captain said he aborted the takeoff about 148 knots IAS, and applied maximum braking and maximum reverse thrust. The airplane reached 166 knots before beginning to slow. The airplane ran off the paved end of the runway into a clearway consisting of soft dirt, stopping about 486 feet beyond the paved end of the runway as the landing gear wheels sank into the soft terrain. The runway had 11,584 feet of pavement available for use. About 1,500 feet from the beginning of the runway, a large amount of shredded tire debris, along with gouge marks consistent with tire wheel rims, were found on the runway. At the point of rest, the number 11, and number 12 tires, installed as the two aft tires on the right body landing gear assembly, were shredded and destroyed. Tires one through four, were inflated and undamaged. The number five tire was cut, torn and flat. Tires six, seven and eight, were flat. Tires nine and ten were still inflated. Tires 13, 14, 15, and 16, were flat. The nose wheel tires were undamaged and inflated. The airplane also received damage to the underside of the right flap assembly, damage to the right main landing gear hydraulic brake system, a landing gear door, and damage to the brake assemblies. The airplane's takeoff gross weight for the flight was 794,200 pounds. For takeoff operations on the runway utilized, the runway takeoff gross weight was 795,300 pounds.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,225 hours in all; 3,972 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 1,854 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 817,000 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7J (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PANC at 3:35 am
- Destination: KJFK New York NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32, 11,584 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 227° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:01 am from PAN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N629US the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.