Boeing 767-222 incident near Denver, Colorado, January 9, 1993
On January 9, 1993 at about 2:37 am local time, a Boeing 767-222, registered N601UA, was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 208 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
MEDICAL INCAPACITATION OF THE FIRST OFFICER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 9, 1993 · about 2:37 am local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 208 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-222 · all 767-222s on the register
- Registration
- N601UA · no longer on the register · serial 21862
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT EN ROUTE FROM NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, TO SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, THE FIRST OFFICER SUFFERED A GRAND MAL SEIZURE AND WAS INCAPABLE OF CONTINUING HIS DUTIES. A COMPANY PILOT RIDING AS A PASSENGER CAME TO THE FLIGHT DECK AND ASSUMED THE FIRST OFFICER'S DUTIES, AND THE AIRCRAFT MADE AN UNEVENTFUL PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN DENVER, COLORADO, WHERE THE INCAPACITATED FIRST OFFICER WAS REMOVED TO MEDICAL FACILITIES.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,686 hours in all; 2,647 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, January 2, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 320,000 lb
- Seats: 217
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: None N/A (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: EWR Newark NJ at 11:51 pm
- Destination: SFO San Francisco CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 9 | |||
| Passengers | 199 |
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.