Boeing 737-200 incident near Cleveland, Ohio, February 23, 1990
On February 23, 1990 at about 11:55 pm local time, a Boeing 737-200, registered N202AU, was involved in an incident near Cleveland, Ohio (Hopkins airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 63 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 IMPROPER TAXI SPEED TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE A SAFE TURN OFF THE SNOW COVERED RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 1990 · about 11:55 pm local time
- Place
- Cleveland, Ohio · Hopkins
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 63 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-200 · all 737-200s on the register
- Registration
- N202AU · no longer on the register · serial 19419
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIR CARRIER AIRCRAFT SLID OFF THE SNOW COVERED RUNWAY WHILE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE A TURN ONTO THE TAXIWAY. THE PILOT HAD BEEN INSTRUCTED TO TURN RIGHT ONTO THE RUNWAY BUT TURNED LEFT AND TAXIED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION ON THE RUNWAY. VISIBILITY WAS REDUCED BY SNOW AND THE PERSONNEL IN THE TOWER COULD NOT SEE THE RUNWAY NOR WAS THE SURFACE DETECTION RADAR OPERATING. THE ATC LOCAL CONTROLLER HAD TOLD THE AIRCRAFT TWICE ' NO DELAY' BECAUSE OF AIRCRAFT ON APPROACH. THE AIRCRAFT ON APPROACH WAS ULTIMATELY GIVEN A GO AROUND AND NOT ALLOWED TO LAND.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 102,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: U.S.Air
The flight
- Destination: EWR Newark NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 5R, 8,999 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Observation at 11:50 pm from CLE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 57 |
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.