Boeing 767 accident near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 27, 2018
On July 27, 2018 at about 8:50 am local time, a 1992 Boeing 767, registered N641GT, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Portsmouth Intl At Pease airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 250 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an improper landing flare technique and the lack of the appropriate bounced landing recovery procedure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 27, 2018 · about 8:50 am local time
- Place
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire · Portsmouth Intl At Pease · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 250 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767 38E, built 1992 · all 767s on the register
- Registration
- N641GT · registry record · serial 25132
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On July 27, 2018, about 0452 eastern daylight time, Atlas Air Incorporated flight 8601, a Boeing 767, N641GT, experienced a hard landing at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, (KPSM), Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There were no injuries to the 250 passengers and crew onboard. The airplane was substantially damaged. The non-scheduled supplemental international passenger flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN), Hahn, Germany, to KPSM. The captain, a line check-airman, was the pilot monitoring and the first officer was the pilot flying and was completing his first operational evaluation. The takeoff, cruise and descent were normal. Visual meteorological conditions with light winds prevailed at the time of the landing. As the FO initiated the landing flare, the airplane became slightly high on the approach path (1 red and 3 white on the Precision Approach Path Indicators). According to the operator, the airplane touched down with limited flare and the engines were at nearly 50% N1, which inhibited the speedbrakes from deploying. The Quick Access Recorder (QAR) data indicated that the airplane porpoised five times down the runway. The maximum load factor recorded during landing bounces was about 2 g’s. Post landing inspection of the airplane found visibly wrinkled, dented and creased skin in the forward fuselage upper crown area, deformation to the nose wheel-well side web, and buckling/fracture of multiple frames and stringers.
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
What happened, in order
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,000 hours in all; 1,984 in this make and model
- Last flight review: June 4, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,465 hours in all; 16 in this make and model
- Last flight review: June 13, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 84,172 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 26, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 400,998 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: General Electric CF6-80C2B6F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: General Electric CF6-80C2B6F (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Atlas Air Inc
The flight
- Departed from: EDFH Hahn OF
- Destination: PSM Portsmouth NH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 11,322 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 am from PSM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 6 | |||
| Flight crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 240 |
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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 DCA18CA252.