Boeing 727-200 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, April 16, 1985
On April 16, 1985 at about 10:25 pm local time, a Boeing 727-200, registered N400DL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Washingon National airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 129 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 16, 1985 · about 10:25 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Washingon National · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 129 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-200 · all 727-200s on the register
- Registration
- N400DL · registry record · serial 400
- 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 ON FINAL FOR RUNWAY 36 AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT, WASHINGTON, D.C., THE PILOT WAS GIVEN A CHANGE OF LNDG RWYS BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC ON RWY 36. DRNG THE ENSUING REALIGNMENT THE CPT TOOK THE CTLS AND LNDG THE ACFT, SCRAPING THE RIGHT WING ON THE RUNWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE FDR INDICATED THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN 10 KNOTS BELOW STALL SPEED.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,200 hours in all; 5,600 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,594 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 59 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 178,000 lb
- Seats: 162
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BOS Boston MA at 9:05 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33, 5,189 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from DCA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 122 |
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.