Boeing 727-22C incident near Anchorage, Alaska, October 15, 1986
On October 15, 1986 at about 9:35 pm local time, a Boeing 727-22C, registered N753AS, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Int'L airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 115 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. 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
- October 15, 1986 · about 9:35 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 115 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-22C · all 727-22Cs on the register
- Registration
- N753AS · no longer on the register · serial 19203
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER DEPARTURE, THE FLIGHT CREW RETRACTED THE LANDING GEAR AND NOTICED A NOSE GEAR DISAGREEMENT LIGHT. UPON ARRIVING AT ANCHORAGE, THE FLIGHT CREW COULD NOT LOWER THE NOSE GEAR THROUGH NORMAL OR MANUAL MEANS. THE AIRPLANE LANDED WITH MAIN GEAR EXTENDED AND THE NOSE GEAR RETRACTED. EXAMINATION OF THE NOSE GEAR MECHANISMS REVEALED THAT THE TWO LINKS WHICH EXERCISE THE PAWL BLOCK LOCKS HAD FAILED ALLOWING THE NOSE GEAR TO REMAIN IN THE FULLY RETRACTED AND LOCKED POSITION.
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; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 45,697 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 143
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8-D-7 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arco Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: Kuparak AK at 11:28 pm
- Destination: ANC Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6L, 10,300 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:35 pm from ANC, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 109 |
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.