Boeing 727-200B incident near Mexico City, Mx, March 29, 1985
On March 29, 1985 at about 8:11 pm local time, a Boeing 727-200B, registered N701AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Mexico City (Dfw airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 152 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 1985 · about 8:11 pm local time
- Place
- Mexico City, Mx · Dfw
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 152 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-200B · all 727-200Bs on the register
- Registration
- N701AA · registry record · serial 22459
- 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 THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF A 27 FOOT TALL LIGHT POLE WAS STRUCK BY THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR 1,677 FEET FROM THE END OF THE RWY. ACFT GROSS WEIGHT DICTATED A 5 DEG FLAP TAKEOFF AND COMPANY PERFORMANCE DATA AUTHORIZED DEPARTURE ON EITHER RWY 5R OR 23L. THE CREW PERFORMED AN INTERSECTION TAKEOFF ON RWY 23R RESULTING IN 10,415 FT OF USABLE RWY INSTEAD OF THE PROGRAMED 13,190 FT ON 5R/23L. THE CAPTAIN WAS FLYING THE ACFT BUT NEITHER THE COPILOT OR THE FLIGHT ENGINEER RECOGNIZED THE ERROR OR INITIATED REMEDIAL ACTION. POLE CONTACT RESULTED IN A BLOWN #4 TIRE AND DAMAGE TO THE GEAR ASS'Y AND TRAILING EDGE FLAP. THE ACFT LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AT DFW ARPT, THE INTENDED DEST. DENSITY ALT WAS APRX 10,000 FT MSL.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,747 hours in all; 4,956 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,501 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 191,000 lb
- Seats: 144
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEX Mexico City at 7:10 pm
- Destination: DFW Dfw Inter Arpt TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0, 11,387 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 144 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW85IA168.