Boeing 727-230 accident near San Diego, California, June 28, 2005
On June 28, 2005 at about 1:18 am local time, a Boeing 727-230, registered N357KP, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Diego, California (San Diego International airport). 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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the inadvertent throttle movement by one of the flight crew and the captain's inadequate supervision during the engine start sequence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 28, 2005 · about 1:18 am local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · San Diego International · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-230 · all 727-230s on the register
- Registration
- N357KP · no longer on the register · serial 20675
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane surged forward and impacted a tug when the number 2 engine went to full power during engine start. According to the flight crew's written statements, the captain had written up the number 2 thrust reverser following the previous flight because it required extra effort and movement to reach normal reverse thrust. Maintenance personnel adjusted the rigging and released the aircraft for service. The flight crew informed maintenance that they would verify the rigging after engine start. The airplane was pushed back and the flight crew started the number 1 and 2 engines with no anomalies noted. They were in the process of starting the number 3 engine, when they heard a loud roar of an engine and felt the airplane lunge forward. The flight engineer announced the number 2 throttle was open and pulled the throttle lever to idle. The captain applied brake pressure and called for engine shutdown. According to the captain, he did not notice the number 2 throttle move forward because he was looking at the ground crew for a brake signal. The copilot did not observe the number 2 throttle move forward because he was concentrating on starting the number 3 engine and examining the oil pressure gauges for the number 1 and 2 engines. The flight engineer indicated that he had not noticed the number 2 throttle movement because he was looking at his panel to confirm that the number 2 start valve had closed and the number 3 start valve had opened. He then monitored the oil pressure when he heard the engine spooling up to high power followed by the movement of the airplane. A cockpit voice recorder was installed on the accident airplane, but review of the recording revealed that the engine start and accident had been recorded over. Mechanics examined the engine and throttle control rigging after the accident under the supervision of a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector. According to the mechanics and the airworthiness inspector, no anomalies were noted with the throttle's rigging. Subsequent engine runs were unsuccessful in duplicating the engine surge. The airplane was not equipped with an autothrottle system.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX05LA218.