Boeing 727-232 accident near Tallahassee, Florida, July 26, 2002
On July 26, 2002 at about 9:37 am local time, a Boeing 727-232, registered N497FE, was destroyed in an accident near Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Regional Airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 3 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The captain's and first officer's failure to establish and maintain a proper glidepath during the night visual approach to landing. Contributing to the accident was a combination of the captain's and first officer's fatigue, the captain's and first officer's failure to adhere to company flight procedures, the captain's and flight engineer's failure to monitor the approach, and the first officer's color vision deficiency.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 26, 2002 · about 9:37 am local time
- Place
- Tallahassee, Florida · Tallahassee Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-232 · all 727-232s on the register
- Registration
- N497FE · no longer on the register · serial 20866
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-04/02. On July 26, 2002, at 0537 eastern daylight time, a FedEx Boeing 727, N497FE, crashed during landing at Tallahassee, Florida. The airplane was operating as Flight 1478 from Memphis, Tennessee, to Tallahassee. The airplane crashed short of the runway, and was subsequently destroyed by fire. All three crewmembers were seriously injured.
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
Crew member
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 2,754 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
Crew member
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,500 hours in all; 1,983 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,980 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 159,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NE64 Memphis NE at 9:24 am
- Destination: TLH Tallahassee FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 09, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 100 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from TLH, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DCA02MA054.