Boeing 727-100 incident near Denver, Colorado, September 30, 1985
On September 30, 1985, a Boeing 727-100, registered N721PC, suffered minor damage in an incident near Denver, Colorado (Stapleton airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 71 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
- September 30, 1985
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 71 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-100 · all 727-100s on the register
- Registration
- N721PC · no longer on the register · serial 18997
- 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 GEAR EXTN FOR LNDG, THE FLT CREW NOTED A 'LOUD & VERY NOTICEABLE JOLTING OF THE ACFT.' SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THEY ALSO NOTICED THAT A PORTION OF THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR HAD PUNCTURED THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE RGT WING. THE CREW THEN DECLARED AN EMERGENCY & MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE RGT MAIN GEAR ACTUATOR SUPPORT LINK, PN 65-19657-5, HAD BECOME CORRODED & FAILED. THE OUTBOARD END OF THE MAIN GEAR ACTUATOR BEAM THEN PUNCTURED THE UPPER WING PANEL. ALSO A HYDRAULIC LINE WAS SEVERED, WHICH DISABLED THE 'A' HYDRAULIC SYS. MAINTENANCE RECORDS FROM THE PREVIOUS ACFT OWNER ERRONEOUSLY INDICATED THAT IN 1971, THE FAILED PART HAD BEEN REPLACED WITH A NEWER LINK ASSEMBLY, PN 19657-11, WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE AN INSPECTION. CONSEQUENTLY, THE REQUIRED INSPECTIONS SPECIFIED IN AD 68-17-01, REGARDING THE FAILED LINK, HAD NOT BEEN COMPLIED WITH BY THE NEW OWNER. BOEING HAD ISSUED A SVC BULLETIN (727-32-306) WHICH RECOMMENDED THAT LINK ASSEMBLIES WITH PN 19657-5 (AS WELL AS -4, -8 & -13) BE REMOVED FROM SVC & DISCARDED.
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: 13,000 hours in all; 300 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30,204 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 26, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVR Puerto Vallarto OF at 9:52 pm
- Destination: DEN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17L, 12,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 100° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 64 |
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.