Fairchild FH-227 incident near Chicago, Illinois, September 13, 1983
On September 13, 1983 at about 6:42 pm local time, a Fairchild FH-227, registered N377NE, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 25 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 13, 1983 · about 6:42 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 25 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild FH-227
- Registration
- N377NE · no longer on the register · serial 510
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKING OFF, THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE REMAINED LATCHED 'DOWN' WHEN THE NOSEWHEEL DID NOT CENTER. THE FLIGHTCREW THENUSED THE NOSE GEAR STEERING OVERRIDE SW & TURNED THE NOSEWHEEL UNTIL THE 'OFF CENTER LIGHT' EXTINGUISHED. THE OVERRIDE SW WAS PLACED 'OFF' & THE LANDING GEAR LATCH RETRACTED, BUT WHEN THE GEAR HANDLE WAS RAISED, THE LANDING GEAR REMAINED DOWN. THE OVERRIDE SW WAS TRIED AGAIN, BUT TO NO AVAIL. APRX 5 TO 10 SECONDS LATER, THE LANDING GEAR RETRACTED. DURING ARRIVAL AT THE DESTINATION, THE NOSE GEAR CAME OUT OF THE 'UP POSITION' WHEN THE GEAR HANDLE WAS LOWERED, BUT A 'DOWN & LOCKED' INDICATION WAS NOT ATTAINED. THE 'OFF CENTER LIGHT' ILLUMINATED AGAIN & THE GEAR HANDLE LATCHED DOWN. THE NOSE GEAR STEERING WAS TURNED 90 DEG LEFT & THE GEAR BECAME STUCK. ATTEMPTS TO RECENTER THE NOSEWHEEL AND/OR GET A SAFE INDICATION WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. DURING THE LANDING, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. AN EXAM OF THE NOSE GEAR REVEALED THAT THE STEERING SLIDE ASSEMBLY, PN 27-423031-17, WAS BENT.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,613 hours in all; 2,087 in this make and model; 175 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,324 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 184 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 43,500 lb
- Seats: 48
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce DART 532-7 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Springfield IL at 5:24 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 7,416 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Observation at 6:50 pm from ORD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 22 |
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.