Boeing 727-225A accident near Miami, Florida, November 12, 1983
On November 12, 1983 at about 2:00 am local time, a Boeing 727-225A, registered N812EA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Miami, Florida (Miami Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 158 others were unhurt. 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
- November 12, 1983 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 158 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-225A · all 727-225As on the register
- Registration
- N812EA · registry record · serial 22549
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER DEPARTING MIAMI & CLIMBING THROUGH 10,900 FT THE #3 RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR TIRE EXPLODED CAUSING MASSIVE DAMAGE TO SYSTEMS A & B HYDRAULIC LINES WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF A & B HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS. THE ACFT RETURNED TO MIAMI & THE CREW WAS UNABLE TO EXTEND THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR USING EMERGENCY MANUAL EXTENSION PROCEDURES. AFTER LANDING WITH THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR RETRACTED, THE LEFT MAIN & NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED & SEPARATED. MASSIVE PLY SEPARATIONS WERE FOUND IN THE #3 TIRE STARTING AT THE TOE BEAD, DOWN THE SIDEWALL & EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND THE CROWN OF THE TIRE AT THE 10TH TO 13TH PLY LAYERS. INSP OF THE SITE WHERE THE SEPARATION MET THE BEAD BUNDLES REVEALED A LOCATION WHERE THE BEAD SEAT HAD BEEN SANDED & SMOOTHED. THE ABRASION HAD REMOVED THE OUTER CHAFER STRIP, SEVERAL COVER PLIES, & HAD EXPOSED THE PLIES COVERING THE TOE BEAD. THE BEAD SEAT, AS WELL AS THE CORDS WRAPPED AROUND THE TOE BEAD, HAD ALSO BEEN SUBJECTED TO EXCESSIVE HEAT FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME CAUSING SEVERE DETERIORATION OF THE BEAD SEAT AREA.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,011 hours in all; 6,954 in this make and model; 191 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 183,000 lb
- Seats: 157
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Airlines
The flight
- Destination: ZDV Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9R, 13,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 320° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:20 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 151 |
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 N812EA 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.