Boeing 747-200F accident near Anchorage, Alaska, December 19, 1983
On December 19, 1983 at about 4:05 am local time, a Boeing 747-200F, registered J8151, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 19, 1983 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage Intl · 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 747-200F · all 747-200Fs on the register
- Registration
- J8151 · no longer on the register · serial 22477
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 2359 THE LOCAL CONTROLLER CLEARED THE FLT TO LAND ON RWY 6R. AT 0001 THE GROUND CONTROLLER CLEARED A STATE-OPERATED PICK-UP TRUCK ONTO RWY 6R FOR A TAPLEY RUN. THE GROUND CONTROLLER STATED THAT HE REQUESTED CLEARANCE FROM THE LOCAL CONTROLLER TO ALLOW THE TRUCK ON THE RWY. HE WAS NOT AWARE THAT THE B-747 HAD BEEN CLEARED TO LAND. THE LOCAL CONTROLLERWAS BUSY WITH OTHER COMMUNICATIONS & WAS NOT SURE IF HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE REQUEST FROM GROUND CONTROL; HOWEVER, THE GROUND CONTROLLER BELIEVED THE LOCAL CONTROLLER SAID 'OKAY.' THE ACFT STRUCK THE TRUCK ABOUT 2,000 FT BEYOND THE APPROACH END OF THE RWY WHILE THE ACFT'S MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS ON THE GROUND BUT THE NOSE HAD NOT YET BEEN LOWERED FROM THE LANDING ATTITUDE. THE FLT CREW STATED THAT THEY DID NOT SEE THE TRUCK PRIOR TO THE COLLISION. AT 0013 THE RWY VISUALRANGE(RVR) WAS 600 FT VARIABLE 800 FT.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 3,300 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 12, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 820,000 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7Q (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Japan Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: NRT Tokyo, Japan
- Destination: ANC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6R, 10,897 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 9:13 am from ANC, 1 miles away
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.