Douglas DC-9-31 incident near Cleveland, Ohio, November 15, 1987
On November 15, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Douglas DC-9-31, registered N8988E, suffered minor damage in an incident near Cleveland, Ohio. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 64 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 15, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 64 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-31 · all DC-9-31s on the register
- Registration
- N8988E · no longer on the register · serial 47098
- 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 DESCENDING INTO CLEVELAND FROM 25,000 FEET THE PILOT, EXPERIENCED A VIOLENT LURCH IN THE AIRFRAME. THE FLIGHT CONTINUED AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. AN AIRCRAFT EXAMINATION DISCLOSED THAT THE RIGHT UPPER THRUST REVERSER DRIVE LINK WAS BROKEN. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE DRIVE LINK DISCLOSED A FATIGUE FRACTURE.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,055 hours in all; 1,014 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 50,351 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 8, 1987; 609 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 110,000 lb
- Seats: 99
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Atlanta GA at 2:20 pm
- Destination: Cleveland OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 60 |
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.