Boeing 737-222 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, December 28, 1982
On December 28, 1982 at about 3:28 pm local time, a Boeing 737-222, registered N752N, was involved in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Washington National airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 73 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
- December 28, 1982 · about 3:28 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Washington National
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 73 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-222 · all 737-222s on the register
- Registration
- N752N · no longer on the register · serial 19073
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED BY WITNESSES TO DESCEND BELOW ITS NORMAL DESCENT PATH AND TO HORIZONTIALLY STRAY OFF COURSE TO THEPOINT THAT OFFICE BLDG OCCUPANTS AND PERSONS ON THE GROUND WERE CONCERNED BY THE APPEARANCE AND NOISE OF THE ACFT DURINGA VOR/DME APPROACH TO WASHINGTON NAT'L ARPT. THE FDR AND RADAR PLOTS CONFIRM THE POSITION OF THE ACFT. ONE OF THE BUILDINGS 2.5 MILES FROM THE ARPT IS ABOUT 396 FT MSL. THE VOR/DME APPROACH HAS AN ALT RESTRICTION OF 900 FT MSL AT 3 NMAND A MINIMUM DESCENT ALT OF 720 FT AT 2.5 NM. THE PLT WAS INTERVIEWED AND HE STATED THAT HE THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AND THAT HE WAS AT THE ALT RESTRICTION AT THE 3 MILE DME. RADAR SHOWS HIS ALT AS ABOUT 517 FT AT 3 MILE DME AND ABOUT 400 FT AT 2.5 MILE DME. RADAR AND WITNESSES AGREE ON A TURN AND CLIMB AT THIS POINT TOWARD THE RIVER AND THE NORMAL APPROACH PATH.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,123 hours in all; 2,013 in this make and model; 153 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 32,625 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 668 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 104,000 lb
- Seats: 112
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P & W JT-8D-9 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ROA Roanoke VA
- Destination: DCA Washington DC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 6,869 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 135°F (57°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:04 am from DCA, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 68 |
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 N752N 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.