Boeing 757-224 accident near San Francisco, California, February 26, 2024
On February 26, 2024 at about 5:02 am local time, a 1999 Boeing 757-224, registered N13138, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near San Francisco, California (San Francisco Intl airport). It was a flight test under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The crew’s over-rotation of the aircraft pitch during takeoff which resulted in a tailstrike.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 26, 2024 · about 5:02 am local time
- Place
- San Francisco, California · San Francisco Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-224, built 1999 · all 757-224s on the register
- Registration
- N13138 · registry record · serial 0138
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
United Airlines (UA) flight 3872 experienced a tailstrike while taking off from San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California. The flight was a local maintenance test flight. The purpose of the test flight was to validate maintenance conducted after a write-up for abnormal flight deck noises that occurred on a previous flight. According to the flight crew, they conducted a flaps 5, reduced power takeoff from runway 28R. The captain recalled the aircraft accelerated faster than normal and had the propensity to lift off prior to the rotation speed of 127 knots. At rotation speed, the captain began a normal aft pull on the control yoke and the pitch attitude increased faster than expected. The captain just called “positive rate” when the crew heard and felt a “boom.” As this flight was a test flight, it was not loaded with passengers and cargo to a takeoff weight typical of flights the pilot flying normally flew. The pilot flying rotated at a rate “normal” to his experience, however because the accident aircraft was loaded lighter than normal, the normal rotation inputs resulted in an over-rotation. The crew assessed the instruments and controllability and decided to continue their climb to flight level (FL) 190 [19,000 feet] where they conducted the tailstrike checklist. They returned to SFO and conducted a flaps 30 landing with no further incident. Prior to leaving the flight deck after the flight, the first officer received the pitch report for takeoff which showed that tail contact occurred about 12.2 degrees during departure and the actual pitch for this departure reached 15.3 degrees. Inspection of the aircraft showed that the tail strike damaged the chord, web, and stiffeners of the auxiliary power unit firewall bulkhead. Because the damage would adversely affect the structural strength of the bulkhead and require major repair or replacement, the damage was considered substantial. The investigation determined that the maintenance conducted prior to this test flight was not related to the accident.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,575 hours in all; 1,250 in this make and model; 230 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 3,100 as pilot in command; 75 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 10, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,471 hours in all; 260 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 434 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 17, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 85,724 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 9, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 255,000 lb
- Seats: 182
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Rolls-Royc RB-211-535E4B (turbofan); 87,206 hours total
- Engine 2: Rolls-Royc RB-211-535E4B (turbofan); 94,923 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines INC
The flight
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10L/, 11,870 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N13138 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 DCA24LA110.