Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51 incident near Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, September 26, 1986
On September 26, 1986 at about 1:17 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51, registered N402EA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 99 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 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
- September 26, 1986 · about 1:17 am local time
- Place
- Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina · Raleigh-Durham · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 99 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · all DC-9-51s on the register
- Registration
- N402EA · registry record · serial 47683
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE FLT CREW MADE A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 23L IN CALM WIND CONDS. FLT CREW STATEMENTS INDICATED THAT WHEN THEY WERE ON FINAL APCH AT ABOUT 100 FT AGL, THE ACFT WAS ON THE PROPER GLIDEPATH FOR LANDING. HOWEVER THE RESULTING GRND CONTACT WAS HARDER THAN NORMAL RESULTING IN MINOR DAMAGE TO THE ACFT BUT NO REPORTED INJURIES.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,159 hours in all; 1,335 in this make and model; 212 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 3,737 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30,686 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 22, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 121,000 lb
- Seats: 139
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGA New York NY
- Destination: RDU
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23L, 7,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 94 |
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.