Boeing 727-264 accident near Chicago, Illinois, August 16, 2000
On August 16, 2000 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Boeing 727-264, registered N764AT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Midway airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 105 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fractured tow bar and the inadequate weld of the tow bar by an unknown person.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 2000 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Chicago Midway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 105 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-264 · all 727-264s on the register
- Registration
- N764AT · no longer on the register · serial 22984
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The tow bar fractured through a weld on a tow bar during the pushback of a Boeing 727. Weld material remained partially attached at both ends of the separation and in some locations the weld was not attached to its adjoining surface.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,407 hours in all; 2,654 in this make and model; 4,777 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 49,819 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 17, 2000; 219 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 195,500 lb
- Seats: 182
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17 SER (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Trans Air
The flight
- Departed from: MDW at 4:29 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 021° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 162°F (72°C), dew point 131°F (55°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from MDW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 98 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N764AT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.