Boeing 727-223 incident near Harlingen, Texas, February 8, 1986
On February 8, 1986 at about 6:20 am local time, a Boeing 727-223, registered N871AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Harlingen, Texas (Rio Grande Valley airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 134 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
- February 8, 1986 · about 6:20 am local time
- Place
- Harlingen, Texas · Rio Grande Valley · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 134 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-223 · all 727-223s on the register
- Registration
- N871AA · no longer on the register · serial 21383
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE EN ROUTE, THE COMPANY DISPATCHER NOTIFIED AMERICAN FLT 844 (VIA ACARS) THAT HARLINGEN (HRL) HAD UNFORECAST FOG & WAS 300' OBSCD WITH 1/2 MI VIS. AT 2335, AS THE FLT BGN A DSCNT FM FL 310, THE SAME CEILING & VIS WERE RPRTD. HOWEVER, AS THE FLT WAS CLRD FOR AN ILS RWY 17R APCH, HOUSTON ARTCC ADZD THE WX WAS (IN PART) 200' OBSCD, 3/8 MI VIS WITH FOG. WXMINS FOR THE APCH WERE 200' CEILING & 1/2 MI VIS. TWO APCHS WERE MADE USING THE AUTOPLT, BUT BOTH WERE TERMINATED WITH MISSED APCHS DUE TO WX. THE CREW STARTED TO DIVERT, BUT RECD A WX UPDATE (VIA ACARS) THAT THE WX WAS IMPROVING, SO A 3RDILS WAS ATMTD. AFTER ACTIVATING RWY LGTS, THE CAPT HAND FLEW THE APCH. AS HE TRANSITIONED TO A VISUAL APCH, THE DSCNT RATE INCREASED & THE ACFT TOUCHED DWN SHORT OF THE RWY, DMGG THE LNDG GEAR & APCH LGTS. THE CREW MADE A GO-ARND, THEN DIVERTED WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENT. A COMPANY WX OBSERVER AT HRL NOTED THE 0010 WX WAS 200' OBSCD & 1/2 MI VIS & THE 0018WX WAS 100' OBSCD & 1/4 MI VIS, BUT THE CREW DID NOT CONTACT THE OBSERVER, AS REQD, BFR MAKING THE APCHS.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,440 hours in all; 7,700 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23,132 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 174,000 lb
- Seats: 195
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dallas Ft Worth TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17R, 8,300 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 5:18 am from HRL, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 127 |
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.