Boeing 727-023 incident near Chicago, Illinois, May 28, 1985
On May 28, 1985 at about 2:55 am local time, a Boeing 727-023, registered N1984, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (Ohare International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 121 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
- May 28, 1985 · about 2:55 am local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Ohare International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 121 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-023 · all 727-023s on the register
- Registration
- N1984 · no longer on the register · serial 1844D
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AMERICAN AIRLINES FLT 57 HAD DEPARTED BALTIMORE FOR CHICAGO. ON FINAL APPROACH AT OHARE THE CREW DISCOVERED THE NOSE GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND. THE FE MADE THREE ATTEMPTS TO CRANK DOWN THE GEAR ALL OF WHICH WERE UNSUCESSFUL. AFTER LANDING WITH NOSE GEAR UP ALL 121 OCCUPANTS SLIDE EVACUATED WITH NO REPORTED INJURY. AFTER JACKING THE NOSE UP A GROUND CREW MAN WENT ABOARD AND CRANKED THE GEAR TO THE DOWN POSITION WITH NO DIFFICULTY.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Unknown UNKNOWN (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BWI Baltimore MD
- Destination: ORD Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32L, 11,600 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from ORD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 114 |
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 N1984 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.