Boeing 707-323C incident near Chicago, Illinois, June 24, 1984
On June 24, 1984 at about 1:25 am local time, a Boeing 707-323C, registered GSAIL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- June 24, 1984 · about 1:25 am local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707-323C · all 707-323Cs on the register
- Registration
- GSAIL · no longer on the register · serial 18690
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ABOUT 26 MIN BEFORE LANDING CREW RECEIVED SIGMET 1C ADVISING OF LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM MILWAUKEE TO ST. LOUIS MOVINGSE AT 15 KTS. THEY ALSO BECAME AWARE OF A THUNDERSTORM WEST OF ARPT. AT ABOUT 20 MI NE OF ARPT THEY COULD SEE THE STORM VISUALLY & ON RADAR WEST OF ARPT. ABOUT 15 MI OUT CREW CEASED LOOKING AT RADAR DUE TO INCREASING WORKLOAD & GROUNDCLUTTER. RAIN INCREASED IN INTENSITY DURING FINAL APPROACH. ACFT LANDED, OVERRAN RWY & HIT APCH LIGHT. CREW DID NOT CONSULT LANDING FIELD LENGTH CHART IN COMPANY OPS MANUAL. CHART INDICATES A STOPPING DISTANCE OF 7,930 FT FROM INITIAL BRAKE APPLICATION FOR A 'VERY WET' RWY. ANOTHER FLT WHICH WAS ARRIVING IN THE ARPT AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT RECEIVED VECTORS NORTH OF THE ARPT & HELD FOR ABOUT 10 MIN. THEY THEN FLEW '...ON THE BACK SIDE OF TH WEATHER FOR AN APPROACH TO RUNWAY 14R...' RWY 27L, 10141 FT LONG, WAS AVAILABLE.
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: 7,148 hours in all; 1,923 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 44,863 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 323,300 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Gndr,Newfndland
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22R, 7,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 290° at 15 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:24 am from ORD, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 |
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.