Boeing 737-300 accident near Dublin, Virginia, December 23, 1986
On December 23, 1986 at about 2:05 am local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N369AU, suffered minor damage in an accident near Dublin, Virginia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries; 131 others were unhurt. 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
- December 23, 1986 · about 2:05 am local time
- Place
- Dublin, Virginia
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries; 131 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N369AU · no longer on the register · serial 23319
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CLBG TO FL 350, USAIR FLT 95 ENCTRD CONT 'LIGHT CHOP,' SO CREW LVLD AT FL 310 & LEFT THE SEAT BELT SIGN ON. THEY INQUIRED ABOUT TURBC AHEAD & WERE ADZD OF RPRTD LGT/MOD CHOP & 1 ENCTR WITH SVR TURBC AT FL260. CLNC WAS RCVD TO DSCND TO FL 240. DRG DSCNT, THE ACFT ENCTRD SEVERE TURBC. THE CAPT DECLARED AN EMERG & THE DSCNT WAS CONTD TO FL 200. THE CAPTNOTED TURBC LASTED APRX 1.5 MIN BTN FL 270 & FL 210. THERE WERE NO CLDS; THE VIS (AT NGT) WAS UNLIMITED. THE FLT ATTEND-ANTS WERE UNRESTRAINED; 1 WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED & 3 RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. A SIGMET WAS IN EFFECT WHICH FORCAST MOD TOOCLNLY SEVERE TURBC BTN FL 240 & FL 350 IN AN AREA WEST OF THE ACFT'S FLT PATH. INV SHOWED AN INCONSISTENCY IN THE DIS- SEMINATION OF CENTER WX ADVISORIES (CWA'S) & SIGMETS. ALTHO CWA'S & SIGMETS HAD THE SAME LVL OF PRIORITY FOR ATC & FSS USE, CWA'S WERE NOT DISSEMINATED OVR 604 & 135 WX CIRCUITS. USAIR RECEIVED WX INFO VIA FAA'S 604 & 135 CIRCUITS, SO DID NOT HAVE CWA INFO FOR WX BRIEFINGS. WX STUDY SHOWED TURBC WAS ENCTRD WHERE SUBTROPICAL & POLAR JET STREAMS CONVERGED.
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: 28,600 hours in all; 800 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,236 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 517 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 115,000 lb
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIT Pittsburgh PA at 1:43 am
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:30 am from GSO, 90 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Passengers | 2 | 127 |
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.