Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51 accident near Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii, June 15, 2000
On June 15, 2000 at about 3:10 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51, registered N649HA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii (Lihue airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people had minor injuries; 137 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The first officer's delayed and misjudged landing flare resulting in a tail strike and hard landing. Contributing factors were his relative inexperience flying the type of airplane, and the captain's and the first officer's failure to adhere to required company procedures and Federal Aviation Regulations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 15, 2000 · about 3:10 am local time
- Place
- Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii · Lihue · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 137 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-51 · all DC-9-51s on the register
- Registration
- N649HA · no longer on the register · serial 47715
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard during the touchdown, damaging structural members in the lower aft fuselage. The captain authorized the first officer to fly the route between Honolulu and Lihue during which no mechanical abnormalities were experienced. Approaching Lihue, daytime visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the first officer continued as the flying pilot. He established the airplane on a 3-degree descent profile toward the runway, with stabilized engine thrust and with a stabilized rate of descent. The digital flight data recorder (DFDR) indicates that, about 1 second before touchdown, the airplane's rate of descent was approximately 384 feet per minute, which was higher than normal, and the pitch attitude was at 8 degrees nose up. The hard landing and tail strike dislodged several passenger cabin oxygen masks from their ceiling storage compartments, and it also resulted in deformation to the aft empennage that was not immediately apparent. Subsequently, the DFDR readout indicated that during the impact sequence the airplane's maximum recorded vertical acceleration was 2.33 g's. The flight crew reported not observing damage to the airframe during a post-flight walk around, whereupon they departed with passengers and thereafter made several additional flights. During the follow-up maintenance examination, the airplane's tail bumper compression indicator was found in the normal (horizontal) position, having been compressed about 2 7/8 inches. By design, tail strikes that result in 3 or more inches of compression to the tail bumper reposition its indicator from a horizontal to a vertical position. This serves as an additional visual aid alerting personnel of the severity of the tail strike event. The first officer had completed his initial operating experience (IOE) training and had been released to fly the line 5 days prior to the accident. However, according to the Hawaiian Airlines Flight Operations Manual, and associated Federal Aviation Regulations, because he only had about 61 of the requisite 100 hours of DC-9 flying experience, he was not authorized to land at the Lihue Airport. Additionally, he was obligated to so inform the captain of his limitation.
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 instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,725 hours in all; 9,839 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days; 6,678 as pilot in command; 10 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 27, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,895 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 61 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 6,655 as pilot in command; 855 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 30, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 43,780 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 21, 2000; 124 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 115,000 lb
- Seats: 133
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HNL Honolulu HI at 2:43 am
- Destination: LIH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 am from LIH
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 132 |
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.