Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30 incident near Erie, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1984
On October 14, 1984 at about 8:09 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30, registered N965VJ, suffered minor damage in an incident near Erie, Pennsylvania (Erie Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 77 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
- October 14, 1984 · about 8:09 am local time
- Place
- Erie, Pennsylvania · Erie Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 77 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-30 · all DC-9-30s on the register
- Registration
- N965VJ · no longer on the register · serial 47374
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ORIG DESTN WAS YOUNGSTOWN, OH, BUT ITS WX WAS BLO MINS, SO THE FLT TO TRANSPORT A FOOTBALL TEAM WAS PLANNED TO ERIE WHICH WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE MINS. THE COACH & BUSINESS MANAGER WERE NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS, BUT PLANS WERE MADE TO BUS THE TEAM ON TO YOUNGSTOWN. EN ROUTE, THE MANAGER OCCUPIED A JUMPSEAT IN THE COCKPIT IN VIOLATION OF 14 CFR 121. THE WX AT ERIE DETERIORATED TO 100' OBSCD & 1/4 MI VIS WITH FOG. THE CREW ENTERED HOLDING WITHOUT CLNC TO WAIT FOR THE WX TO IMPROVE. THEY ELECTED TO MAKE AN ILS APCH (MINS 200' CIG & 1/2 MI VIS) & LEFT THE HOLDING PATTERN WITHOUT CLNC. AT APRX 2800', RADAR CONTACT WITH ATC WAS LOST, BUT THEY RECEIVED AN ABOVE MINS WX REPORT FM THE STATION AGENT & CONTD THE APCH WITHOUT AN ATC CLNC. THEY DID NOT ACTIVATE THE APCH LGTS. AT THE DH, THE COPLT SAID 'I DON'T HAVE IT', BUT THE CAPT SAW LGTS TO HIS LEFT & CONTD THE LANDING. THE ACFT LANDED ON SOFT GND BESIDE THE RWY & ROLLED TO A STOP WITH MINOR DMG. RWY LGTS AT STEP 1 INSTEAD OF 2 DUE TO A WIRING PRBLM. CAPT WAS ON DUTY APRX 15 HRS, AWAKE 19.5 HRS. 2 EMERG SLIDES MALF.
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: 15,556 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 105,000 lb
- Seats: 110
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Nashville TN at 6:15 am
- Destination: ERI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 4 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 200 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:06 am from ERI, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 71 |
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 N965VJ 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.