Boeing 737-130 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, February 20, 1996
On February 20, 1996 at about 8:12 pm local time, a Boeing 737-130, registered N33202, suffered minor damage in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Washington National airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 79 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
excessive airspeed was maintained by the captain during the approach/landing phase of the flight, which resulted in an overrun and an encounter with soft/wet terrain. Factors relating to the incident were: the pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point, the wet runway condition, and partial failure of the anti-skid brake system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 1996 · about 8:12 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Washington National · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 79 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-130 · all 737-130s on the register
- Registration
- N33202 · no longer on the register · serial 19019
- 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 pilots reported that as they neared the destination airport, ATC requested that they keep their airspeed up during the approach. The pilots obtained the current ATIS information, which noted an 'overriding tailwind component' on final approach for runway 36. The surface winds were reported to be from 040 degrees at 7 knots. The captain indicated that he began to slow the airplane for landing during the descent, about 11 miles south of the airport. ATC personnel in the tower indicated that the airplane was fast on the approach, and it touched down slightly farther down the runway than other airplanes that landed that day. They also indicated that the thrust reversers deployed farther down the runway than usual. FDR data indicated that the airplane touched down at about 180 knots indicated airspeed. The FDR data also showed that during the previous landing (made by another aircrew), the airplane touched down at about 140 knots. Subsequently, the airplane ran off the departure end of the runway and stopped about 250 feet onto the overrun area where it encountered mud. Postaccident examination revealed that the two inboard main landing gear tires had blown out during the landing. During a test of the anti-skid system, the channel for the inboard brakes did not function properly.
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, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,234 hours in all; 2,294 in this make and model; 138 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 6,778 as pilot in command; 720 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,118 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 15, 1995; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 109,000 lb
- Seats: 95
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GSO Greensboro NC at 6:32 pm
- Destination: DCA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 6,869 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 74 |
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.