Fokker F-28-MK-1000 incident near Baltimore, Maryland, October 3, 1987
On October 3, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Fokker F-28-MK-1000, registered N288N, suffered minor damage in an incident near Baltimore, Maryland (Baltimore-Washington airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 56 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
- October 3, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Baltimore, Maryland · Baltimore-Washington · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 56 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fokker F-28-MK-1000 F-28-MK-10
- Registration
- N288N · registry record · serial 11054
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT HAD A MAIN GEAR ONLY LANDING AFTER THE NOSE GEAR FAILED TO LOCK DOWN. THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT SINCE A NEWLY OVERHAULED NOSE GEAR WAS INSTALLED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT WHEN THE NOSE GEAR WAS INSTALLED AND BEFORE IT WAS CORRECTED, A WRONG WASHER WAS USED WITH A BOLT TO INSTALL PART OF THE DOWNLOCK MECHANISM. THIS RESULTED IN AN UNDETECTED PERMANENT REDUCTION, BELOW THE DESIGN CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE DOWNLOCK PLUNGER AND ITS INTERNAL-BEARING. EXAMINATION OF THE DOWNLOCK AFTER THE LANDING INCIDENT DISCLOSED THAT THERE WAS SCORING OF THE PLUNGER AND ITS BEARING.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,600 hours in all; 2,300 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28,534 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 2, 1987; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 63,000 lb
- Seats: 60
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 555-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GSO Greensboro NC at 1:02 pm
- Destination: BWI Baltimore MD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33L, 9,519 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 13 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft; scat at 3,900 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 pm from BWI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 52 |
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.