Airbus Industrie A320-211 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, April 27, 1995
On April 27, 1995 at about 9:35 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A320-211, registered N331NW, was involved in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Washington National airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 108 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's excessive use of the flight controls during the landing approach, the company's disregard of information provided by the airplane manufacturer, and the company's failure to identify a potentially hazardous conditions based on the information provided by the airplane manufacturer. Factors associated with the incident were the gusty wind conditions and the pilot's failure to land with full flaps.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1995 · about 9:35 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Washington National · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 108 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A320-211 · all A320-211s on the register
- Registration
- N331NW · no longer on the register · serial 318
- 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 PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING THE VISUAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18, THE AIRPLANE ENTERED UNCOMMANDED ROLLS. A GO-AROUND WAS PERFORMED. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, ON THE SECOND APPROACH THE AIRPLANE ONCE AGAIN EXPERIENCED AN UNCOMMANDED ROLL. THE AIRPLANE WAS LANDED. FDR DATA SHOWS THE ROLL OSCILLATIONS WITH A MAX ROLL OF 15.5 DEGREES. DURING THIS TIME THE SIDE STICK WAS BEING MOVED BACK AND FORTH TO ITS FULL TRAVEL LIMITS. THE AIRPLANE MOVEMENTS AND THE PILOT'S ACTIONS ARE CONSISTENT WITH PILOT INDUCED OSCILLATIONS (PIO). THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING LANDED IN CONF 3 (20 DEGREES OF FLAPS) WHICH MAKES THE HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRPLANE 'MORE CRISP'. IN 1993 AIRBUS PUBLISHED A TEMPORARY REVISION TO THE AIRPLANE'S FLIGHT CREW OPERATING MANUAL STATING THE AIRPLANE SHOULD NOT BE LANDED IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS (GUSTY WINDS AND TURBULENCE) IN CONF 3 DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF PIO. NORTHWEST AIRLINES HAD NOT INCORPORATED THIS INFORMATION IN THEIR OPERATING MANUALS.
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: 4,692 hours in all; 1,155 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 145,000 lb
- Seats: 156
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM-56-5 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MSP Minneapolis MN at 7:38 pm
- Destination: DCA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 6,869 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from DCA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 103 |
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 N331NW 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.