Lockheed L-1011-385-1 accident near Atlanta, Georgia, August 25, 1987
On August 25, 1987 at about 7:46 pm local time, a Lockheed L-1011-385-1, registered N720DA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia (Atl. Hartsfield Intl. Apt). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 147 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 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
- August 25, 1987 · about 7:46 pm local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Atl. Hartsfield Intl. Apt
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 147 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L-1011-385-1 L-1011-385
- Registration
- N720DA · no longer on the register · serial 193C1136
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS BEING FLOWN MANUALLY FOR AN ILS APCH TO RWY 8L AT ATLANTA. THE APCH WAS ALLOWED TO BECOME UNSTABLE AT ABOUT THE MIDDLE MARKER AND THE VERTICAL SPEED WAS INCREASED TO ABOUT 1290 FEET PER MINUTE ABOUT FIVE SECONDS BEFORE TOUCHDOWN. THE IOE CAPT IN THE LEFT SEAT WAS TOLD BY THE COMPANY CK AMN THAT HE NEEDED TO GET HIS NOSE UP. AS THE IOE CAPT INITIATED FLARE, THE CK AMN ALSO APPLIED NOSE UP CONTROL INPUTS. THE ACFT MADE THREE TOUCHDOWNS AND THE AFT FUSELAGE CONTACTED THE RWY RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE IOE CAPT HAD COMPLETED HIS FIRST CLASS PHYSICAL EXAM FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AND UNDERWENT BYPASS SURGERY 17 DAYS SUBSEQUENT TO THE ACCIDENT. IN ADDITION, HE INDICATED THAT 3-4 YEARS EARLIER HE HAD EXPERIENCED CHEST PAINS AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH WHICH HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED AS A HIATAL HERNIA. THE SAME SYMPTOMS HAD REAPPEARED ABOUT ONE WEEK PRIOR TO HIS BEGINNING L-1011 GROUND SCHOOL. THE ACCD FLT WAS BEING CONDUCTED ON THE SECOND DAY OF THE CAPT,S IOE IN THE L-1011.
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: 18,211 hours in all; 13 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 35,281 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 10, 1987; 145 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 450,000 lb
- Seats: 302
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB-211-22 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Airlines,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: SJU San Juan PR at 4:10 pm
- Destination: ATL Atlanta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8L, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:01 pm from ATL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 12 | |||
| Passengers | 135 |
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.