Boeing 727-224 accident near New York, New York, December 28, 1983
On December 28, 1983 at about 10:25 pm local time, a Boeing 727-224, registered N79750, was substantially damaged in an accident near New York, New York (La Guardia airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 127 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. 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
- December 28, 1983 · about 10:25 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · La Guardia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 127 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-224 · all 727-224s on the register
- Registration
- N79750 · no longer on the register · serial 22452
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING APCH THE CREW WAS ADVISED OF A WINDSHEAR ON FINAL APCH OF +10 TO -15 KTS AT 700 FT & 400 FT AGL. WINDS WERE REPORTED 170 DEG AT 26 KTS GUSTING TO 40 KTS. THE PLT ADDED 20 KTS TO HIS V-REF SPEED OF 132 KTS & SELECTED AUTO-SPOILERDEPLOYMENT. PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN CREW WAS ADVISED AGAIN OF A WINDSHEAR ALERT IN SEVERAL QUADRANTS. AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE ACFT BOUNCED & THE AUTO-SPOILERS DEPLOYED. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN IN WHAT THE CREW DESCRIBED AS A FIRM LANDING. THEFLT ENGR FOUND NO APPARENT DAMAGE SO THE CREW DID NOT WRITE IT UP AS A HARD LANDING. ON 12/31 DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON THE UPPER CROWN OF THE FUSELAGE BETWEEN STATIONS 660 & 680 FROM STRINGER S-10 LEFT TO S-10 RIGHT. LATER INSPECTIONS REVEALEDNOSE GEAR DAMAGE ALSO. FLT RECORDER READ-OUT INDICATED THAT THE APPROACH SPEED VARIED FROM 143 TO 170 KTS WITH A TOUCHDOWN SPEED OF 163 KTS. SIGNIFICANT WINDSHEAR EXISTED BELOW 1,000 FT MSL & MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE EXISTED BELOW 5,000 FT MSL. UPDRAFTS & DOWNDRAFTS EXISTED BELOW 100 FT AGL DUE TO CONVERGENCE/DIVERGENCE OF THE WINDS.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,750 hours in all; 6,100 in this make and model; 231 in the last 90 days; 79 in the last 30 days; 4,605 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,176 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 25, 1983; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 190,500 lb
- Seats: 146
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DEN Denver CO at 6:31 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 28 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:00 pm from LGA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 120 |
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 N79750 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.