Boeing 767 incident near Denver, Colorado, August 20, 1983
On August 20, 1983, a Boeing 767, registered N609UA, was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 205 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- August 20, 1983
- Place
- Denver, Colorado
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 205 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767 · all 767s on the register
- Registration
- N609UA · no longer on the register · serial 21870
- 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 ACFT WAS DESCENDING FROM FL 410 WITH THE THROTTLES AT IDLE. AS POWER WAS ADDED AT FL 295 THE LEFT ENG SURGED & EXCEEDED MAX EGT. 18 SECS LATER THE RIGHT ENG SURGED & EXCEEDED ITS MAX EGT. THE LEFT & RIGHT ENGS WERE SHUT DOWN AT FL 200 & 177 RESPECTIVELY. THE ENGS WERE SUCCESSFULLY RESTARTED ABOUT FL 150. THE INABILITY OF THE ENGS TO ACCELERATE AFTER THE MANUALLY INDUCED SURGE WAS DUE TO CONTAMINATED FUEL NOZZLES WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED COMBUSTION CHAMBER EFFICIENCIES & WHICH RESULTED IN A SUBIDLE STALL.
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 sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 358 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,372 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 302,000 lb
- Seats: 197
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7R4 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 7,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 197 |
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 N609UA 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.