Boeing B-727-200A incident near Chicago, Illinois, October 24, 1988
On October 24, 1988 at about 9:10 pm local time, a Boeing B-727-200A, registered N277US, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 80 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
- October 24, 1988 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 80 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing B-727-200A
- Registration
- N277US · registry record · serial 21156
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON DEPARTURE FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, O'HARE AIRPORT THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF THE INBOARD LEFT MAIN WHEEL. THE AIRCRAFT DIVERTED TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN, WHERE IT WAS LANDED WITH NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT AND NO INJURIES TO THE CREW OR PASSENGERS. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE BROKEN INBOARD AXLE ASSEMBLY BY THE NTSB METALLURGICAL LAB, REVEALED FATIGUE CRACKING OF THE AXLE.
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: 13,234 hours in all; 6,774 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 31,131 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 808 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 177,500 lb
- Seats: 155
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Northwest Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 9:10 pm
- Destination: BOS Boston MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:45 pm from ORD, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 74 |
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 N277US 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.