Boeing 727-232 incident near Atlanta, Georgia, February 13, 1997
On February 13, 1997 at about 5:17 pm local time, a Boeing 727-232, registered N416DA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield International). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 92 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of ground service personnel to properly close the aft cargo door before the airplane departed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 13, 1997 · about 5:17 pm local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Hartsfield International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 92 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-232 · all 727-232s on the register
- Registration
- N416DA · registry record · serial 21258
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After normal pushback and taxi to the runway, the airplane began a takeoff. During the takeoff roll, the aft cargo door light illuminated on the second officer's panel. The takeoff was continued. After climbing about 900 feet, there was a 'pop' and pressurization was lost. The pilot returned to the departure airport. Subsequent examination revealed that the door latch should have functioned properly, and the cargo light should have been illuminated, if the door was not closed. None of the ground crew remembered latching the cargo door.
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
- Flight time: 13,750 hours in all; 4,640 in this make and model; 238 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,128 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 8, 1997; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 184,200 lb
- Seats: 152
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ATL at 5:10 pm
- Destination: CHS Charleston SC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 11,889 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 15 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:15 pm from ATL, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 86 |
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.