Boeing 757-222 incident near Seattle, Washington, October 16, 1997
On October 16, 1997 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Boeing 757-222, registered N581UA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Seattle, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 196 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Maintenance personnel's failure to properly secure the left off-wing slide door after routine slide replacement, allowing an inflight separation of the slide. Factors were inadequate training of maintenance personnel and inadequate written instructions by the airplane manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 16, 1997 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 196 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-222 · all 757-222s on the register
- Registration
- N581UA · no longer on the register · serial 26701
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
As the airplane was rotated for liftoff from Seattle, the captain noticed that the EICAS (engine indication and crew alerting system) 'EMERGENCY DOOR' light had illuminated. According to the Airplane Fight Manual, if pressurization is normal (and it was), the crew need not take further action. During the descent for landing, a flight attendant said she heard a loud noise from the left side of the airplane. The airplane landed uneventfully at Denver. Inspection disclosed the left off-wing slide had separated from the airplane, causing minor damage to the access door, flap, and fuselage skin. The slide had been routinely replaced the previous evening by a mechanic using a flashlight and referencing the airplane maintenance manuals. After installing the slide, the mechanic closed the panel and placed the actuator handle in the horizontal position (as per instructions placarded on the maintenance access door). He said he had never received any training for installing the off-wing slide. There have been four similar incidents since the airplane entered commercial service, prompting the manufacturer to issue Service Bulletin (S.B.) 757-25-0182.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,997 hours in all; 4,346 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,521 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 19, 1997; 258 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 230,000 lb
- Seats: 207
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW-2037(M) (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SEA WA at 3:30 pm
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 16,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from SEA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 188 |
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.