Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, September 8, 1985
On September 8, 1985 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N1842U, suffered minor damage in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Dulles Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 175 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
- September 8, 1985 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Dulles Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 175 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N1842U · no longer on the register · serial 46635
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
NORTHWEST FLIGHT 78 (NW78), A B-757, WAS PARKED AT GATE 17 FACING EAST WITH MOBILE PASSENGER LOUNGE (MPL) DOCKED AT L1 DOOR. UNITED 52, A DC-10, TAXIED IN EASTERLY DIRECTION BY LEFT SIDE OF NW78, THEN TURNED RIGHT TO SOUTHEASTERLY HEADING TO FOLLOW LEAD-IN LINE TO GATE 15. DC-10 WAS ON LEAD-IN HEADING WITH NOSEWHEEL ABOUT 3' TO 6' RIGHT OF LINE & FOLLOWING SIGNALS FROM GUIDEMAN, WHEN RIGHT WINGTIP STRUCK AFT END OF MPL. DRIVER OF MPL WAS STANDING ON GANGWAY & FELL BACKWARD INTO 757 & RECEIVED MINOR INJURY. BOTH PLANES RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE; MPL WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. UNITED HAD RECENTLY BEGUN TO USE GATE 15 FOR DC-10'S. AT THAT TIME, NW WAS USING DC-10 ON FLT 78, WHICH DEPLANED THRU L2 DOOR, BUT A WEEK BEFORE INCIDENT, DC-10 WAS REPLACED WITH 757 THAT NORMALLY DEPLANED THRU L1 DOOR. NW78'S ARRIVAL WAS LATE THAT DAY, SO DEPLANING WAS STILL IN PROGRESS WHEN FLIGHT 52 ARRIVED. MEASUREMENTS CONFIRMED INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE EXISTED FOR DC-10 AT GATE 15, WHEN MPL WAS DOCKED WITH 757 AT GATE 17.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 440,000 lb
- Seats: 300
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:52 pm from IAD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 10 | |||
| Passengers | 165 |
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.