Douglas DC-9-82 incident near Long Beach, California, March 11, 1982
On March 11, 1982 at about 2:53 am local time, a Douglas DC-9-82, registered N778JA, was involved in an incident near Long Beach, California (Long Beach/Daughety Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 68 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 11, 1982 · about 2:53 am local time
- Place
- Long Beach, California · Long Beach/Daughety Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 68 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-82 · all DC-9-82s on the register
- Registration
- N778JA · no longer on the register · serial 48080
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ENGINE START, GROUND PERSONNEL REPORTED OVER THE INTERCOM TO THE PILOTS THAT FUEL WAS DRIPPING FROM THE NO. 2 ENGINE AS IT WAS SPOOLING UP AND CALLED FOR CONTINUED MOTORING WITH THE FUEL LEVER OFF. WHEN GROUND PERSONNEL THEN REPORTED A FIRE THE CAPTAIN DISCHARGED BOTH FIRE BOTTLES AND CONTINUED MOTORING THE ENGINE. AIRPORT FIRE CREWS ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE PASSENGERS WERE EVACUATED WITHOUT INCIDENT. NO FIRE WARNINGS WERE RECEIVED IN THE COCKPIT, ACCORDING TO BOTH PILOTS. THE ENGINE WAS DISASSEMBLED AND NO REASON FOR THE FIRE DETERMINED.
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: 5,211 hours in all; 168 in this make and model; 268 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 2,725 as pilot in command; 481 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,151 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 148,000 lb
- Seats: 147
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Jet America Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LGB Long Beach CA at 6:53 pm
- Destination: Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 300° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 14 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 153°F (67°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:00 pm from LGB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 62 |
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.