Boeing 757-251 incident near Detroit, Michigan, June 18, 1987
On June 18, 1987 at about 12:56 pm local time, a Boeing 757-251, registered N515US, suffered minor damage in an incident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metro airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 123 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
- June 18, 1987 · about 12:56 pm local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit Metro · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 123 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-251 · all 757-251s on the register
- Registration
- N515US · registry record · serial 23203
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A NORTHWEST AIRLINES BOEING 757, OPERATING AS FLIGHT 336, SCRAPED THE TAIL CONE AREA OF THE FUSELAGE ON THE RUNWAY WHEN THE PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT GROUND CLEARANCE DURING ROTATION AND TAKEOFF FROM DETROIT, MICHIGAN. THE BOEING 757 FLIGHT OPERATION MANUAL STATES THAT 'NORMALLY...APPROXIMATELY 3 DEGREES PER SECOND IS A GOOD ROTATION RATE. ' ON PAGE THREE OF THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDER DATA, UNDER PITCH, IT INDICATES A PITCH CHANGE OF 5.997 DEGREES IN ONE SECOND, AND 4.922 DEGREES IN THE NEXT SECOND. THE FLIGHT OPERATION MANUAL ALSO STATES THAT 'ROTATING AT TOO FAST A RATE FOR EXISTING CONDITIONS AND/OR AN EARLY ROTATION CAN RESULT IN A TAIL STRIKE.'
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: 11,865 hours in all; 160 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 310,000 lb
- Seats: 195
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DTW Detroit MI at 12:56 pm
- Destination: BOS Boston MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 10,500 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:55 pm from DTW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 118 |
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.