Boeing 747-136 accident near Jamaica, New York, December 20, 1995
On December 20, 1995 at about 4:36 pm local time, a Boeing 747-136, registered N605FF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jamaica, New York (John F. Kennedy Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 24 people had minor injuries; 443 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the captain's failure to reject the takeoff in a timely manner when excessive nosewheel steering tiller inputs resulted in a loss of directional control on a slippery runway. Inadequate Boeing 747 slippery runway operating procedures developed by Tower Air, Inc., and the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group and the inadequate fidelity of B-747 flight training simulators for slippery runway operations contributed to the cause of this accident. The captain's reapplication of forward thrust before the airplane departed the left side of the runway contributed to the severity of the runway excursion and damage to the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 20, 1995 · about 4:36 pm local time
- Place
- Jamaica, New York · John F. Kennedy Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 24 people had minor injuries; 443 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-136 · all 747-136s on the register
- Registration
- N605FF · registry record · serial 20271
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain initiated a takeoff on runway 4L, which was covered with patches of ice and snow. The wind was from 330 degrees at 11 knots. Before receiving an 80-knot call from the 1st officer, the airplane began to veer to the left. Subsequently, it went off the left side of the runway and collided with signs and an electric transformer. Investigation revealed evidence that the captain had overcontrolled the nosewheel steering through the tiller, then applied insufficient or untimely right rudder inputs to effect a recovery. The captain abandoned an attempt to reject the takeoff, at least temporarily, by restoring forward thrust before the airplane departed the runway. The current Boeing 747 operating procedures provide inadequate guidance to flightcrews regarding the potential for loss of directional control at low speeds on slippery runways with the use of the tiller. Current Boeing 747 flight manual guidance was inadequate about when a pilot should reject a takeoff following some indication of a lack of directional control response. Improvements in the slippery runway handling fidelity of flight simulators used for Boeing 747 pilot training were considered to be both needed and feasible. (See: NTSB/AAR-96-04 for detailed information.)
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: 16,455 hours in all; 2,905 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 62 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 7, 1995
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,734 hours in all; 4,804 in this make and model; 178 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
Flight Engineer
- Certificate: flight engineer, private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 4,609 hours in all; 2,799 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 56 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 9, 1995
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,921 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 29, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 625,609 lb
- Seats: 493
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Tower Air
The flight
- Departed from: JFK at 4:36 pm
- Destination: MIA Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4L, 11,351 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from JFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 16 | ||
| Passengers | 24 | 427 |
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.