Boeing 727-235 accident near New Orleans, Louisiana, July 9, 1982
On July 9, 1982 at about 9:09 pm local time, a Boeing 727-235, registered N4737, was destroyed in an accident near New Orleans, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 145 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 1982 · about 9:09 pm local time
- Place
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 145 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-235 · all 727-235s on the register
- Registration
- N4737 · no longer on the register · serial 19457
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report on this investigation is provided as Aviation Accident Report number AAR-83-02. To obtain a copy of this report, or to view the executive summary online, please see the Web site at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm THE ACFT, PAN AM FLT 759, WAS ON A SCHEDULED FLT FROM MIAMI, FL TO LAS VEGAS, NV, WITH AN EN ROUTE STOP AT NEW ORLEANS, LA. WITH AN ACFT GROSS WT OF APRX 170,000 LBS, THE CAPT WAS REQUIRED TO USE RWY 10 FOR TKOF. VIP LVL 3 WX ECHOS WERE LOCATED EAST OF THE RWY, BUT NO LIGHTNING OR THUNDER WAS EVIDENT. THERE WERE SHOWERS OVR THE EAST END OF THE RWY & THE WNDS WERE GSTY, VARIABLE & SWIRLING. AFTR TAKOF, THE ACFT CLIMBED TO APRX 95 TO 150 AGL, THEN BGN TO DESCEND. THE ACFT STRUCK TREES APRX 2376 FT BYD THE DEP END OF THE RWY, ABOUT 50 FT AGL, THEN CONTD ANOTHER 2234 FT, HITTING TREES & HOUSES. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT, EXPLOSION & FIRE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE ACFT HAD ENCTRD A DECREASING HDWND SHEAR CAUSED BY DIVERGING FLOW FROM A MICROBURST WHICH OCCURRED ON THE ARPT. THE WND SHEAR WAS NOT DETECTED BY THE LOW LVL WND SHEAR ALERT SYS TIL AFTER FLT 759 BGN ITS TKOF.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,727 hours in all; 10,595 in this make and model; 212 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,253 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 172,000 lb
- Seats: 145
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P & W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: New Orleans LA at 4:08 pm
- Destination: Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10, 9,227 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 180°F (82°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 137 |
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.