Boeing 747-121 incident near Anchorage, Alaska, May 17, 1989
On May 17, 1989 at about 5:39 pm local time, a Boeing 747-121, registered N818FT, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF TIRES ON THE RIGHT INSIDE MAIN GEAR TRUCK. A RELATED FACTOR WAS: FAILURE OF OPERATOR/MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL TO FOLLOW PROPER LOADING PROCEDURES, WHICH RESULTED IN AN IMPROPER LATERAL WEIGHT AND BALANCE SITUATION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 17, 1989 · about 5:39 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-121 · all 747-121s on the register
- Registration
- N818FT · no longer on the register · serial 20353
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG THE TKOF ROLL, THE CREW FELT A VIBRATION BTN 135 KTS & LIFT-OFF. THEY LEFT THE GEAR EXTDD & WERE ADZD 2 TIRES HAD SEPD FM THE RGT INSIDE MAIN GEAR TRUCK, A 3RD TIRE BLEW OUT & THE 4TH APPEARED INTACT. THEY DUMPED FUEL & LNDD. AN EXAM REVEALED THE TIRES HAD FAILED, RESULTING IN SKIN DMG & BKN HYD LINE(S). CARGO HAD BEEN LOADED WITH MORE PALLETS ON THE RGT SIDE; SOME PALLETS WERE NOT MARKED TO INDC WT OR SHIPPING ID. A COMPUTER PRINT-OUT (SIGNED BY CAPT & STATION AGENT) SHOWED A LATERAL IMBALANCE OF 18,766 LBS. WITH THIS IMBALANCE, GROSS WT SHOULD NOT HAVE EXCEEDED 744,000 LBS; ACTUAL WT WAS 751,316 LBS. AFTER DEPG THE CARGO RAMP, ACFT WAS TAXIED 3 MI IN A STRAIGHT LINE, THEN 2 LEFT TURNS WERE MADE ONTO RWY 6R FOR TKOF. PREVIOUS LOADING CRITERIA PROVIDED 3% ALLOWANCE FOR RANDOM DISPOSABLE LOADS ON PALLETS. IN 1969, FAA ISSUED AN EXEMPTION FM FAR 25.471(B) TO ALLOW BOEING 747'S TO BE LOADED TO DESIGN LIMIT, PROVIDED INSTRNS WERE AVBL TO ASSURE A SYMMETRICAL LOADING. OF 239 KNOWN TIRE FAILURES, 71 INVOLVED THE FLYING TIGER LINE, AN ALL CARGO CARRIER.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,690 hours in all; 2,162 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 2,883 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47,027 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 10, 1989; 352 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 12:30 pm
- Destination: RJAA Tokyo,Japan OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6R, 10,897 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.