Boeing 727-227 and Boeing 727-22 incident near Livingston, Tennessee, November 12, 1986
On November 12, 1986 at about 3:33 pm local time, 2 aircraft, Boeing 727-227 (N471BN) and Boeing 727-22 (N7014U), were involved in the same incident near Livingston, Tennessee. No one was hurt; 167 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
- November 12, 1986 · about 3:33 pm local time
- Place
- Livingston, Tennessee
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 167 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft 1
- Boeing 727-227 · all 727-227s on the register
- Registration
- N471BN · no longer on the register · serial 21669
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
- Aircraft 2
- Boeing 727-22 · all 727-22s on the register
- Registration
- N7014U · registry record · serial 18306
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative for the Boeing 727-227 final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE BRANIFF AND UNITED BOEING 727 JETLINERS WERE APPROACHING 'SWAPP' INTERSECTION ON CONVERGING JETWAYS AT THEIR PROPER ASSIGNED ALT OF 35,000'. THE CONTROLLER WAS IN THE PROCESS OF ISSUING RADAR VECTORS TO ASSURE PROPER LATERAL SEPARATION WHEN THE CONTROL FREQ BECAME BLOCKED. ATTEMPTS TO OVERRIDE THE BLOCKED FREQ WERE UNSUCCESSFUL AND THE TWO ACFT PASSED WITH APPROX 200' VERT AND ZERO HORZ SEPARATION. THE TWO FLT CREWS DID NOT SEE THE OTHER ACFT UNTIL THE NEAR COLLISION OCCURRED. THE INITIAL TRANSMISSION BY THE BRANIFF CAPTAIN FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT CLEARED THE FREQ AND ALL COMMS RETURNED TO NORMAL. BOTH ACFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE FLT DATA RECORDER IN THE BRANIFF 727 INDICATED A SOLID 5 MINUTE EVENT MARKER OF MIC 'ON' THAT CORRELATED TO THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. THE BRANIFF CREW WAS NOT AWARE OF THE FREQUENCY PROBLEM. THERE WERE NO DISCREPANCIES REVEALED DURING BENCH TESTS PERFORMED ON THE EQUIPMENT INSTALLED IN THE BRANIFF ACFT.
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 NTSB's narrative for the Boeing 727-22 final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE BRANIFF AND UNITED BOEING 727 JETLINERS WERE APPROACHING 'SWAPP' INTERSECTION ON CONVERGING JETWAYS AT THEIR PROPER ASSIGNED ALT OF 35,000'. THE CONTROLLER WAS IN THE PROCESS OF ISSUING RADAR VECTORS TO ASSURE PROPER LATERAL SEPARATION WHEN THE CONTROL FREQ BECAME BLOCKED. ATTEMPTS TO OVERRIDE THE BLOCKED FREQ WERE UNSUCCESSFUL AND THE TWO ACFT PASSED WITH APPROX 200' VERT AND ZERO HORZ SEPARATION. THE TWO FLT CREWS DID NOT SEE THE OTHER ACFT UNTIL THE NEAR COLLISION OCCURRED. THE INITIAL TRANSMISSION BY THE BRANIFF CAPTAIN FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT CLEARED THE FREQ AND ALL COMMS RETURNED TO NORMAL. BOTH ACFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE FLT DATA RECORDER IN THE BRANIFF 727 INDICATED A SOLID 5 MINUTE EVENT MARKER OF MIC 'ON' THAT CORRELATED TO THE TIME FO THE INCIDENT. THE BRANIFF CREW WAS NOT AWARE OF THE FREQUENCY PROBLEM. THERE WERE NO DISCREPANCIES REVEALED DURING BENCH TESTS PERFORMED ON THE EQUIPMENT INSTALLED IN THE BRANIFF ACFT.
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 for the Boeing 727-227 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: 15,500 hours in all; 9,200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,619 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8-9A (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Braniff Airline, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LGA New York NY
- Destination: DFW Dallas TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 54 |
The factual record for the Boeing 727-22 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: 12,942 hours in all; 9,982 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 54,668 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FMY Fort Myers FL
- Destination: ORD Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 99 |
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 N471BN 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.