Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 incident near Chicago, Illinois, May 30, 1987
On May 30, 1987, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82, registered N224AA, was involved in an incident near Chicago, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 83 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 30, 1987
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 83 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82 · all DC-9-82s on the register
- Registration
- N224AA · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AMERICAN FLT 637 WAS ON DEPARTURE FROM CHICAGO-O'HARE INTL ARPT (ORD), CLIMBING THRU 7300' MSL, WHEN IT PASSED AMERICAN FLT 393 WITH APRX 500' VERTICAL SEPN & 1/4 MI HORIZONTAL SEPN. THIS OCCURRED AFTER AN AIR TRAFFIC ASSISTANT, WHO WAS WORKING THE CLNC DELIVERY PSN AT ORD, HAD ISSUED THE SAME TRANSPONDER CODE TO FLT 637 & UNITED FLT 441. SUBSEQUENTLY, A TRAINEE CONTROLLER (CTLR), WHO WAS WORKING AT THE WEST DEPARTURE RADAR CONTROL POSITION, MISTOOK FLT 441'S TARGET AS THAT OF FLT 637 & ISSUED CLIMB INSTRUCTIONS TO FLT 637. THE INSTRUCTOR DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE ERROR IN TIME TO CORRECT THE CTLR'S ACTION.
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: 10,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 149,500 lb
- Seats: 172
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:58 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 78 |
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 N224AA 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.