Boeing 727-223 incident near Detroit, Michigan, May 9, 1988
On May 9, 1988 at about 8:40 pm local time, a Boeing 727-223, registered N800AA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Detroit, Michigan. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 112 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
- May 9, 1988 · about 8:40 pm local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 112 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-223 · all 727-223s on the register
- Registration
- N800AA · registry record · serial 19475
- 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 PIC MADE AN UNSCHEDULED LANDING FOLLOWING DECOMPRESSION AT 30,000 FEET. THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP BY FLIGHTCREWS NUMEROUS TIMES BETWEEN MAY 7 AND MAY 9 FOR PRESSURIZATION PROBLEMS. PRESSURE BULKHEAD AT STATION 940 IN THE RIGHT WHEEL WELL CRACKED 15 1/2 INCHES DUE TO FATIGUE. AIRCRAFT HAD FLOWN 55,437 HOURS AND HAD 39,983 CYCLES AT THE TIME OF DECOMPRESSION, ONE OF THE HIGHEST HRS AND CYCLES IN THE AMERICAN FLEET. BOEING AIRCRAFT ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN DATED MAY 4, 1979 WHICH WAS NOT COMPLIED WITH THAT ADDRESSED THE ISSUE OF BEAD CRACKING IN THE 940 STATION WHEEL WELL PANEL.
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: 8,640 hours in all; 730 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 55,437 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 169,000 lb
- Seats: 140
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ORD Chicago IL
- Destination: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 105 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N800AA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.