Boeing 727-295 incident near Nashville, Tennessee, May 23, 1986
On May 23, 1986 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Boeing 727-295, registered N1644, was involved in an incident near Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 129 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
- May 23, 1986 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Nashville, Tennessee · Nashville
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 129 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-295 · all 727-295s on the register
- Registration
- N1644 · no longer on the register · serial 19449
- 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 FLIGHT EXPERIENCED A FIRE WARNING LIGHT DESCENDING THROUGH 10500 FEET FOR LANDING AT NASHVILLE. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE PASSENGERS EVACUATED THE AIRCRAFT USING EVACUATION SLIDES. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DISCLOSED THAT THE DETECTION LOOP WAS FAULTY.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,203 hours in all; 1,484 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 52,491 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 164
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT80-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Denver CO at 7:40 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 20R, 7,700 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 pm from BNA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 122 |
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.