Boeing 737-200A incident near Kansas City, Missouri, September 9, 1989
On September 9, 1989 at about 2:33 am local time, a Boeing 737-200A, registered N283AU, suffered minor damage in an incident near Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 65 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 FLIGHTCREW'S FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE FOR AND EXECUTE A NONPRECISION APPROACH AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT PREMATURE DESCENT BELOW MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS THE INADEQUATE AND DEFICIENT SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE FLIGHTCREW BY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PERSONNEL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 9, 1989 · about 2:33 am local time
- Place
- Kansas City, Missouri · Kansas City Int'L
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 65 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-200A · all 737-200As on the register
- Registration
- N283AU · no longer on the register · serial 283AU
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A LOCALIZER BACK COURSE APPROACH TO RWY 27 THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH FOUR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CABLES, LOCATED 75 FT AGL, APRX 7,000 FT SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE CREW EXECUTED A MISSED APCH & LANDED UNEVENTFULLY IN SALINA, KS. THE SAFETY BOARD FOUND THAT THE CREW DID NOT ADEQUATELY REVIEW APCH CHARTS. FIRST OFFICER MISIDENTIFIED LIGHTS ON GROUND WHICH INFLUENCED CAPT'S SUBSEQUENT MISIDENTIFICATION. ATC FAILED TO PROVIDE ACCURATE WX TO THE CREW, FAILED TO VECTOR THE AIRPLANE TO JOIN THE LOCALIZER OUTSIDE THE FINAL APCH FIX AND COMMITTED OTHER ERRORS IN HANDLING THE FLIGHT. AN FAA INSPECTOR, CONDUCTING AN EN ROUTE INSPECTION OF THE FLIGHT, DID NOT INFORM THE CREW OF THE ERRORS THEY WERE COMMITTING IN THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF THE APCH. CREW DID NOT EXECUTE MISSED APPROACH WHEN THEY ENCOUNTERED FULL-SCALE LOCALIZER DEFLECTION INSIDE THE FINAL APCH FIX. (NTSB/AAR-90/04)
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 instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,300 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 62 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17,045 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 8, 1989; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 117,000 lb
- Seats: 120
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIT Pittsburgh PA at 11:35 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 9,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 22 knots, gusting 39
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:27 am from MCI, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 58 |
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.