Boeing 757-225 incident near Atlanta, Georgia, January 20, 1989
On January 20, 1989 at about 1:15 am local time, a Boeing 757-225, registered N509EA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Atlanta, Georgia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 111 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF OPERATOR MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL TO ACCOMPLISH AN APPLICABLE SERVICE BULLETIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 20, 1989 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 111 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-225 · all 757-225s on the register
- Registration
- N509EA · registry record · serial 22199
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING EN ROUTE CLIMB, INBOARD FIXED WING PANEL OVER WHEEL WELL SEPARATED FROM ACFT. BOEING SERVICE BULLETIN HAD NOT BEEN COMPLIED WITH REGARDING CRACKED FASTENERS WHICH ATTACHED THE WING PANEL TO ACFT. SERVICE DIFFICULTY RPRTS REVEALED SAME CARRIER HAD EXPEREINCED PREVIOUS SIMILAR LOSS OF THE PANEL. ACFT INVOLVED HAD NOT BEEN MODIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SERVICE BULLETIN.
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; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 350,000 lb
- Seats: 195
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80C (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Air Lines
The flight
- Destination: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 105 |
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.