Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 incident near Detroit, Michigan, January 3, 1986
On January 3, 1986 at about 4:21 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N101AA, was involved in an incident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 236 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 3, 1986 · about 4:21 am local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit Metropolitan · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 236 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10-10 · all DC-10-10s on the register
- Registration
- N101AA · no longer on the register · serial 46500
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
N101AA WAS OPERATING AS AMERICAN FLT 192. FLT 192 WAS ORIGINALLY CLEARED TO LAND ON RWY 21R; HOWEVER, A PRECEEDING ACFT HAD A LANDING GEAR PROBLEM, SO FLT 192 WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RWY 21C, INSTEAD. THE COPLT, WHO WAS FLYING THE ACFT, MADE A SIDE-STEP MANEUVER TO LAND ON RWY 21C. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN LONG ON THE 8500 FT RWY. THE FLT CREW RPRTD THAT 'EVERYTHING SEEMED NORMAL DURING THE ROLLOUT UNTIL BELOW 80 KNOTS WHEN THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT SEEM TO SLOW.' THE CREWMEMBERS WERE UNABLE TO STOP ON THE REMAINING RWY DESPITE THE USE OF BRAKES & REVERSE THRUST. INFO OBTAINED DURING THE INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT THE ACFT HAD TOUCHED DOWN WITH AN ESTIMATED 5037 FT OF RWY REMAINING. ACCORDING TO THE PERFORMANCE HANDBOOK, THE STOPPING DISTANCE ON AN ICY RWY WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER 5100 FT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,950 hours in all; 2,466 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,283 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 415,000 lb
- Seats: 268
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-6D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 3:18 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21C, 8,500 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; not recorded at 900 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from DTW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 225 |
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 N101AA 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.