Boeing 737-217 incident near Chantilly, Virginia, April 13, 1985
On April 13, 1985 at about 3:20 am local time, a Boeing 737-217, registered N434PE, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chantilly, Virginia (Dulles International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 107 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
- April 13, 1985 · about 3:20 am local time
- Place
- Chantilly, Virginia · Dulles International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 107 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-217 · all 737-217s on the register
- Registration
- N434PE · no longer on the register · serial 19887
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
APPROX 25MIN AFT LNDG,FLT 168 WAS CLEARED FOR TKOF ON RWY 30 AT DULLES INTL ARPT. ABT 1MIN LATER THE CREW CALLED FOR AN ABORTED TKOF BECAUSE THE #2 EPR APPEARED SLOW TO SPOOL UP. AFT TAXIING BACK AND RUNNING UP THE ENGINES, FLT 168 ATMPTD A SECOND TKOF. DFDR READOUTS INDICATE THE ACFT GOT UP TO 103KTS BFR THE CAPT ABORTED THE TKOF. THEY ALSO INDICATE LESS THAN NORMAL BRAKING DURING THE PROCEEDING LNDG AND FIRST ABTD TKOF. DRNG THE TAXI BACK TO THE GATE, AT WHICH THE CREW WAS GOING TO HAVE THE EPR GAUGE FIXED, THE PLT NOTICED THE ACFT START TO DRAG TO THE RIGHT. THE ACFT WAS STOPPED AND TRANSMITTED TO THE TOWER THAT THEY NEEDED A MOBILE LOUNGE SENT OUT TO TAXIWAY N1 TO OFFLOAD THEIR PAXS. ABT 40 MINS LATER THE LOUNGE ARRIVED AND NOTICED A FIRE DEVELOPING IN THE RT MAIN WHEEL AREA. THE ACFT WAS EVACUATED USING BOTH CHUTES ON THE LEFT SIDE AND THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED IMMEDIATELY UPON ARRIVAL OF THE ARPT FIRE TRUCKS.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 43,302 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 12, 1985; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 96,500 lb
- Seats: 130
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Destination: EWR Newark NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 10,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 am from IAD, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 102 |
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.