Boeing 747-136 accident near Boston, Massachusetts, December 15, 1985
On December 15, 1985 at about 7:50 pm local time, a Boeing 747-136, registered GAWNE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 269 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 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
- December 15, 1985 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts · Logan Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 269 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-136 · all 747-136s on the register
- Registration
- GAWNE · no longer on the register · serial 19765
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
APRX 16 FT OF THE LEFT INBOARD TRAILING EDGE FLAP SEPARATED WHILE THE ACFT WAS ON FINAL APCH TO LAND. THE APCH AND LANDING WERE COMPLETED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED 5 OF THE 8 BOLTS WHICH HOLD THE NO. 3 FLAP TRACKFORWARD ATTACH FITTING TO THE WING SHOWED SIGNS OF FATIGUE AND THE 3 REMAINING BOLTS SHOWED OVERLOAD TYPE FAILURES. NO INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FORWARD ATTACHMENT BOLTS WERE REQUIRED BY BOEING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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: 6,481 hours in all; 645 in this make and model; 38 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 55,667 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 20, 1985; 700 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 734,000 lb
- Seats: 413
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LHR London OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22L, 10,005 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from BOS, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 17 | |||
| Passengers | 252 |
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.