Boeing 727-25 incident near Evansville, Indiana, September 18, 1986
On September 18, 1986 at about 1:41 am local time, a Boeing 727-25, registered N8107N, was involved in an incident near Evansville, Indiana (Evansville/Dress Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 38 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 18, 1986 · about 1:41 am local time
- Place
- Evansville, Indiana · Evansville/Dress Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 38 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-25 · all 727-25s on the register
- Registration
- N8107N · no longer on the register · serial 18258
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER THE AIRCREW OF EASTERN FLT 254 (A BOEING 727, N8107N) HAD LANDED ON RWY 22 AT NIGHT & WAS SLOWING, THE TOWER CONTROLLER (CTLR) INSTRUCTED THEM TO 'TURN RIGHT ON TAXIWAY BRAVO, IF ABLE, HOLD SHORT OF RWY 18 AND REMAIN THIS FREQUENCY.' THE CREW OF FLT 254 WAS THEN UNDERSTOOD TO ASK, 'ALRIGHT, IS THAT THE FIRST LIGHTED ONE HERE?' THE CTLR REPLIED, 'AFFIRMATIVE,' THEN SHE CLEARED PDQ FLT 271 (A PIPER PA 31, IN POSITION & HOLDING ON RWY 18) TO TAKEOFF. PDQ FLT 271 WAS ROLLING ON RWY 18 WHEN THE CTLR NOTED THAT EASTERN FLT 254 WAS SLOWLY CROSSING THE SAME RWY. THE CTLR STARTED TO TRANSMIT TO THE EASTERN FLT, THE SHE CANCELED THE TAKEOFF CLNC FOR PDQ FLT 271. PDQ FLT 271 PASSED BEHIND EASTERN FLT 254 AS THE IT WAS CLEARING THE RWY. THE CREW OF FLT 254 STATED THAT THEY NEITHER RECEIVED NOR ACKNOWLEDGED THE INSTRUCTION TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 18. WHEN QUERIED BY THE TOWER AFTER THE INCIDENT, AN EASTERN CREWMEMBER REPLIED, I'M SORRY, WE DIDN'T HEAR YOU.'
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: 10,494 hours in all; 7,304 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDF Louisville KY at 1:00 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 8,021 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:20 am from EVV, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 31 |
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.