Boeing 727-23 incident near Denver, Colorado, July 4, 1984
On July 4, 1984 at about 5:17 am local time, a Boeing 727-23, registered N1992, suffered minor damage in an incident near Denver, Colorado (Stapleton Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 75 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
- July 4, 1984 · about 5:17 am local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 75 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-23 · all 727-23s on the register
- Registration
- N1992 · no longer on the register · serial 18448
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WENT OFF THE RWY DURING LANDING. THE EXCURSION WAS TO THE LEFT & WAS NOT CORRECTED BEFORE THE ACFT MADE AN EXIT FROM THE RWY. THE CAPTAIN, IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, SAID THAT HE WAS ANTICIPATING A RIGHT X-WIND BECAUSE HE WAS LANDING ON RWY 26L & THE WIND WAS FROM 020 DEGREES AT 12 KTS. HE HAD ALREADY ABORTED A LANDING ON RWY 17 DUE TO A TAILWIND. THE CAPTAIN OF ANOTHER ACFT WHICH LANDED IN FRONT OF THE INCIDENT ACFT REPORTED A RIGHT X-WIND. AN FAA INSPECTOR, QUALIFIED IN BOEING 727 ACFT, DUPLICATED ALL CONDITIONS OF THE INCIDENT IN A SIMULATOR AND CONCLUDED THAT THE INCIDENT WAS THE RESULT OF IMPROPER TECHNIQUE OR CORRECTIVE ACTION OR A DELAY IN RESPONSE.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,625 hours in all; 9,100 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-11 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL at 2:40 am
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26L, 10,010 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 200° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 am from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 68 |
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.