Lockheed L1011-385-1 accident near Maui, Hawaii, May 9, 2000
On May 9, 2000 at about 7:50 pm local time, a Lockheed L1011-385-1, registered N192AT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Maui, Hawaii (Kahului airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 370 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The captain's failure to maintain the proper wind-adjusted Vref airspeed, by a margin which varied from 7 to 20 knots too slow, during the final 10 seconds of the approach prior to touchdown.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 9, 2000 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Maui, Hawaii · Kahului · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 370 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L1011-385-1 L1011-385-
- Registration
- N192AT · no longer on the register · serial 139C-1057
- 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 scheduled airline Lockheed L-1011, sustained a tail strike during landing damaging the pressure bulkhead and several bell frames and stringers in the aft fuselage. According to the flight crew, the captain was landing on runway 2 using a flaps 42 (full down) setting. The ATIS was reporting winds from 060 degrees at 18 knots with gusts to 26 knots. Both pilots stated that as the airplane descended through 30 to 40 feet agl, a sudden high sink rate developed. The captain added power and pitched the nose up to arrest the rate of descent. All three crewmembers said that the landing was harder than normal, but none would classify as a "hard landing." According to the airport METAR, the winds at 0954 were from 060 degrees at 22 knots with higher gusts to 27 knots. Review of the high resolution ASOS wind data from a sensor near the touchdown zone for the runway disclosed no significant speed variations in either the head or crosswind components during the last 10 seconds of the approach. An FAA inspector entered the cockpit after the aircraft had been parked at the gate and observed the captain's airspeed indicator final approach speed bug setting at 142 knots. According to the airline's L-1011 Operations Manual, the inner bug is set to the final approach speed, which is Vref adjusted for 1/2 of the steady state wind plus all of the gust additive. The final bug setting cannot be less than Vref + 5, nor more than Vref + 20. For the aircraft's landing weight, the zero wind Vref was calculated at 138 knots, with a wind adjusted final approach speed of 150 knots. Read out of the Flight Data Recorder disclosed that in the 48 seconds prior to touchdown, the calibrated airspeed varied from 154 to 145 knots. In the 10 seconds prior to touchdown, the airspeed varied from 143 to 130 knots at wheel contact. In the 10-second period before touchdown, the airspeed decreased from 143 to 135 knots, then increased to 143 knots 3 seconds later, and then steadily decayed to the 130-knot value recorded at ground contact. At touchdown, the aircraft was 8 knots below the no-wind reference speed, and, 13 knots below the airline's minimum specified speed. The maximum pitch attitude value of 8.79 degrees aircraft nose up was 4 degrees less than the maximum allowable pitch attitude to prevent a tail strike. Teardown of the left and right main landing gear assemblies revealed no discrepancies, and no write-ups were found in the maintenance records for the previous 180 days.
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: 24,769 hours in all; 8,178 in this make and model; 165 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 16,339 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 63,701 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 7, 2000; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 452,000 lb
- Seats: 379
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB-211-22 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SFO San Francisco CA at 3:05 pm
- Destination: OGG
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 2, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 22 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 176°F (80°C), dew point 149°F (65°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:54 pm from OGG
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 13 | |||
| Passengers | 357 |
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.