Boeing 727-231 incident near Kenner, Louisiana, August 25, 1989
On August 25, 1989 at about 4:37 pm local time, a Boeing 727-231, registered N52309, suffered minor damage in an incident near Kenner, Louisiana (New Orleans Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 149 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INACCURATE OPERATORS PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES AND THE IMPROPER TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE DATA COMPUTED BY THE CAPTAIN. POOR FLIGHT CREW COORDINATION WAS CONSIDERED A FACTOR AS WELL A WRONG RUNWAY SELECTION FOR THE COMPUTED TAKEOFF DATA.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1989 · about 4:37 pm local time
- Place
- Kenner, Louisiana · New Orleans Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 149 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-231 · all 727-231s on the register
- Registration
- N52309 · no longer on the register · serial 19828
- 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 SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHT WAS DISPATCHED WITH 15 DEGREES FLAP TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE DATA FOR RUNWAY 10/28, WHICH WAS 9,228 FEET LONG. TAKEOFF ACTUALLY WAS FROM RUNWAY 19, WHICH WAS 7,000 FEET LONG. THE AIRPLANE LIFTED FROM THE SURFACE IN THE SAFETY AREA OF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUCK A LIGHTING CONTROL BOX FOR THE RAIL SYSTEM. A PORTION OF THE LANDING GEAR SCUPPER SEPARATED FROM THE AIRPLANE. THE FLIGHT CONTINUED TO ITS DESTINATION AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. PRIOR TO DEPARTURE, THE FLIGHT ENGINEER FILLED IN HIS PORTION OF THE TAKEOFF DATA SHEET AND HANDED IT TO THE CAPTAIN. THE CAPTAIN ANTICIPATED THAT RUNWAY 10 WOULD BE THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY AND HE PERFORMED TAKEOFF DATA CALCULATIONS USING RUNWAY 10 DATA. ATIS INFORMATION AND TAXI CLEARANCE CALLED FOR TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 19. THE OPERATOR'S PROCEDURES DID NOT ASSIGN TAKEOFF DATA CALCULATIONS TO A SPECIFIC CREW MEMBER. PROCEDURES ALSO DID NOT CALL FOR VERIFICATION OF SUCH INFORMATION BY OTHER CREW
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,214 hours in all; 1,565 in this make and model; 111 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days; 551 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 52,825 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 1, 1989; 685 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 172,000 lb
- Seats: 156
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: JFK New York NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:30 pm from MSY
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 142 |
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.