Boeing 757-232 incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, October 4, 1993
On October 4, 1993 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Boeing 757-232, registered N638DL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 95 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE CAPTAIN TO USE THE PROPER ROTATION AND LIFT-OFF SPEEDS, WHICH RESULTED IN OVER ROTATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING TAKEOFF AND A SUBSEQUENT TAIL SCRAPE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 4, 1993 · about 9:20 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Fort Lauderdale
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 95 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-232 · all 757-232s on the register
- Registration
- N638DL · no longer on the register · serial 23761
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE PILOTS, DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO BOUNCED FORWARD & BACKWARD, & AT ABOUT 128 KTS, THE NOSE PITCHED UP. INFO IN THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDER SHOWED THAT AT 95 KTS, THE ELEVATOR BEGAN A POSITIVE DEFLECTION; AT 108.5 KTS, PITCH ATTITUDE BEGAN TO INCREASE; THEN AT ABOUT 126 KTS, THE PITCH ANGLE REACHED A MAXIMUM VALUE OF 11.25 DEG & THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE. ABOUT 3 SECONDS AFTER INITIAL LIFT-OFF, THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN MOMENTARILY. THE CAPTAIN STATED THAT AFTER BECOMING AIRBORNE, HE APPLIED FULL POWER & CONTINUED THE CLIMB. SUSPECTING A POSSIBLE TAIL STRIKE, HE ELECTED TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT & LAND. A POST-FLIGHT EXAM REVEALED A 6' SCRAPE MARK AFT OF THE PRESSURE BULKHEAD. COMPUTED TAKEOFF SPEEDS FOR THIS FLIGHT WERE: DECISION SPEED (V1) 128 KTS, ROTATION SPEED (VR) 130 KTS, AND TAKEOFF SAFETY SPEED (V2) 135 KTS. THE PREVIOUS FLIGHT'S LIFT-OFF OCCURRED AT 151 KTS & 6.855 DEG NOSE UP PITCH. NO MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS DISCOVERED WITH THE AIRPLANE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,881 in this make and model; 227 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 18,266 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 3, 1993; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 223,800 lb
- Seats: 190
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 2037 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLL at 10:20 pm
- Destination: BOS Boston MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27R, 9,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:20 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 87 |
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.