Boeing 747-200F incident near Honolulu, Hawaii, January 6, 2001
On January 6, 2001, a Boeing 747-200F, registered N470EV, was involved in an incident near Honolulu, Hawaii. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of the lighting dimmer switch or circuit components for undetermined reasons, which resulted in smoke in the cockpit.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 2001
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-200F · all 747-200Fs on the register
- Registration
- N470EV · no longer on the register · serial 20653
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The transport category airplane developed an electrical burning odor about 1 hour after departure while at an altitude of 34,000 feet msl. The flight engineer noted smoke emanating from the center console. Following an uneventful landing, mechanics and FAA inspectors found a hot lower incandescent lamp dimmer, which burned the mechanic nearly 2 hours after electrical power was removed from the component. The dimmer and its corresponding circuit breakers were removed and examined. Scorching was noted around the dimmer LV1 lead and on the lower side of both circuit breaker covers. The switch and related circuit breakers were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory for examination, but were lost in transit.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3 SER (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Evergreen International Airlines, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: HNL Honolulu HI at 3:20 am
- Destination: PPG Pago Pago PO
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N470EV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.