Boeing 747-228F accident near Anchorage, Alaska, December 24, 2006
On December 24, 2006 at about 1:45 am local time, a Boeing 747-228F, registered N752SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Ted Stevens Anchorage Internat airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the deicing truck crew to maintain sufficient distance from the parked airplane during deicing, which resulted in a collision and substantial damage to the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 2006 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Ted Stevens Anchorage Internat · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-228F · all 747-228Fs on the register
- Registration
- N752SA · no longer on the register · serial 21255
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight crew departed on an instrument flight rules (IFR) non-scheduled domestic cargo flight under Title 14, CFR Part 121. When the cabin failed to pressurize during departure, the airplane returned to the airport. An FAA inspector who examined the airplane reported that maintenance personnel found a penetrating gouge in the right lower portion of the fuselage between the wing and tail, near the cargo door. The inspector indicated that the gouge was 18 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, with other, shallower surface skin damage about 3 feet long, and that the damage was consistent with the size and shape of the counter-balance weight on the truck used to deice the airplane.
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 instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,327 hours in all; 1,942 in this make and model; 166 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days; 4,956 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,421 hours in all; 421 in this make and model; 176 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 363 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Last flight review: March 1, 2006
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 121,459 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 820,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: General Electric CF6-E2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PANC Anchorage AK
- Destination: DFW Dallas TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.42 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from PANC
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.
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.