Mcdonnell Douglas MD-80 incident near Denver, Colorado, December 27, 1987
On December 27, 1987 at about 5:04 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-80, registered N72830, 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; 136 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 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
- December 27, 1987 · about 5:04 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Stapleton · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 136 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-80
- Registration
- N72830 · no longer on the register · serial 49490
- 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 LANDING ROLL THE ACFT STRUCK A TAXIWAY MARKER. VISIBILITY WAS REPORTED BY RVR TO BE 2200. ACTUAL VISIBILITY WAS NEAR ZERO DUE TO BLOWING SNOW. PLT STATED HE DID NOT LOSE CNTRL BUT FINITE CNTRL NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO LACK OF VISIBILITY AND CROSS WINDS OF 20 GUSTING TO 30 KTS.
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; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 23,000 hours in all; 3,200 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 13,000 as pilot in command; 2,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 140,000 lb
- Seats: 170
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217/A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 12:47 pm
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35R, 12,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from DEN, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 131 |
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.