Boeing 747 SP-09 accident near San Francisco, California, February 19, 1985
On February 19, 1985 at about 6:16 pm local time, a Boeing 747 SP-09, registered N4522V, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Francisco, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 2 people were seriously injured; 271 others were unhurt. 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 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
- February 19, 1985 · about 6:16 pm local time
- Place
- San Francisco, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured; 271 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747 SP-09 · all 747 SP-09s on the register
- Registration
- N4522V · no longer on the register · serial 4522V
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ABV A CLOUD LAYER (TOP AT FL 370) NR THE JET STREAM, AUTOPLT WAS ENGAGED & WAS IN THE PERFORMANCE MNGMNT SYS (PMS)MODE. THE PMS PROVIDED PITCH GUIDANCE TO HOLD FL 410, ROLL GUIDANCE TO AILERONS & SPOILERS FOR ROLL CTL & AUTOTHROTTLE TO MAINT .85 MACH (254 KIAS). ACFT ENCOUNTERED CLR AIR TURBC & AIRSPEED BGN TO VARY BTN .84 & .88 MACH. PMS BGN MOVING THROTTLES FORE & AFT TO HOLD .85 MACH. DRG AUTOTHROTTLE ADJUSTMENTS, #4 ENG THRUST DECREASED & 'HUNG' AT APRX 1.0 EPR & AIRSPEED BGN DECREASING. FLT ENGINEER ATMTD TO MANUALLY RCVR THE #4 ENG THRUST, BUT DID NOT CLOSE THE BLEED AIR VLV BFR ADJUSTING THE #4 THROTTLE. THE #4 ENG REMAINED AT APRX 1.0 EPR. AS THE ACFT SLOWED, AUTOPLT TRIMMED TO HOLD ALT & HDG TIL THE PLT DISENGAGED IT. AT THAT TIME, ACFT ROLLED/YAWED RGT & ENTERED AN UNCTLD DSCNT INTO THE CLOUDS. AS IT BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS AT 11,000', CREW RCVRD & LVLD AT 9500'. DRG DSCNT/RCVRY, ACFT WAS DMGD BY ACCELLERATION FORCES & HI SPEED. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE PLT WAS PREOCCUPIED WITH ENG PRBLM, DIDN'T MONITOR INSTRUMENTS & OVER-RELIED ON AUTOPLT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,494 hours in all; 3,748 in this make and model; 254 in the last 90 days; 82 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,193 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 2, 1985; 206 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 700,500 lb
- Seats: 279
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: China Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: Taipei OF
- Destination: KLAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded at 11,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 21 | ||
| Passengers | 1 | 250 |
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.