Boeing 707-351C accident near Kansas City, Missouri, April 14, 1987
On April 14, 1987 at about 1:55 am local time, a Boeing 707-351C, registered N144SP, was destroyed in an accident near Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Intl airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 4 people were killed. 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
- April 14, 1987 · about 1:55 am local time
- Place
- Kansas City, Missouri · Kansas City Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707-351C · all 707-351Cs on the register
- Registration
- N144SP · no longer on the register · serial 19209
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARR, BUFFALO AIRWAYS FLT 721 WAS VECTORED FOR AN ILS RWY 1 APCH. EXCEPT FOR DEVIATIONS TO AVOID TSTMS, DSCNT TO THE TERMINAL AREA WAS ROUTINE. AT 2151:01, THE FLT WAS ADZD IT WAS 5 MI FM THE OUTER MARKER (OM), WAS GIVEN A FINAL VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE ILS LOCALIZER (LOC) AT 2400' & WAS CLRD FOR THE APCH. AT 2153:07, THE FLT RPRTD OVR THE OM 'INBOUND.' AT THAT TIME, THE LCL CTLR (LC) WARNED THE FLT TO 'CHECK ALT IMMEDIATELY,' & THAT IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE AT 2400'. SHORTLYTHEREAFTER, AN MSAW (MIN SAFE ALT WARNING) ALERT WAS ACTIVATED. THE LC WARNED FLT 721 THAT HE HAD RCVD AN MSAW ALERT & ADZD IT TO CLB TO 2400'. FLT 721 DID NOT RESPOND BY RADIO TO EITHER SAFETY ADZY. THE ACFT CRASHED APRX 3 MI SHORT OF RWY 1. THE OM ALT WAS 2400'; DECISION HGT (DH) FOR APCH WAS 1211'. FDR & RADAR DATA SHOWED THE ACFT PASSED THE OM AT 1700'. THE CVR REVEALED THE FO GAVE ALT INFO IN 100' INCREMENTS DWN TO THE DH, BUT DID NOT ADZ THE CAPT OF THE ALT ERRORAT THE OM OR RPRT THE RWY NOT IN SIGHT AT THE DH. THE GND PROXIMITY WARNING SYS (GPWS) DID NOT WARN THE CREW.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 167 in the last 90 days; 59 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 328,000 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT-3D-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1CT Wichita KS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 10,801 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 8 knots
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:12 am from MC1, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.