Boeing 737-33A incident near Dfw Airport, Texas, December 8, 1993
On December 8, 1993 at about 11:32 am local time, a Boeing 737-33A, registered N166AW, suffered minor damage in an incident near Dfw Airport, Texas (Dfw International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 69 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A FAILURE BY THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND TO ATTAIN A STABILZED APPROACH. FACTORS WERE THE FOG AND FAILURE OF THE COPILOT TO MONITOR THE APPROACH.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 8, 1993 · about 11:32 am local time
- Place
- Dfw Airport, Texas · Dfw International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 69 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-33A · all 737-33As on the register
- Registration
- N166AW · no longer on the register · serial 23627
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CONDUCTING AN ILS APPROACH IN GROUND FOG AND BRIGHT NIGHT CONDITIONS, THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND FAILED TO ATTAIN THE GLIDE SLOPE AND THE COPILOT FAILED TO ADVISE HIM OF THIS. GLIDESLOPE RATE OF DESCENT AT APPROACH GROUND SPEED SHOULD HAVE BEEN APPROXIMATELY 360 FEET PER MINUTE. THE PILOT DESCENDED THE AIRCRAFT THROUGH THE GLIDE SLOPE AT A RATE OF DESCENT OF 1,215 FEET PER MINUTE WHEN 300 FEET OFF THE GROUND. THE RATE OF DESCENT AT TOUCHDOWN WAS APPROXIMAELY 600 FEET PER MINUTE AND TOUCHDOWN OCCURRED 1,095 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. FOLLOWING INITIAL TOUCHDOWN, THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE FOLLOWED BY A SECOND TOUCHDOWN. DURING THE GROUND ROLL THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED 5 SETS OF APPROACH LIGHTS OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY. AS THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED ONTO THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD IT AGAIN BECAME AIRBORNE WHEREUPON THE CREW ABANDONED THE APPROACH AND PROCEEDED TO AN ALTERNATE DESTINATION. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE ALTERNATE A FLY-BY WAS PERFORMED SO THE TOWER COULD ASSESS POSSIBLE LANDING GEAR DAMAGE. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A NORMAL LANDING.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,890 hours in all; 5,800 in this make and model; 194 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 9,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,806 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 8, 1993; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,500 lb
- Seats: 147
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm 56-3B1 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: America West Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LAS Las Vegas NV at 8:32 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18L, 11,837 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded at 200 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:40 am from DFW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 64 |
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.