Boeing 747-131 incident near Los Angeles, California, November 2, 1984
On November 2, 1984 at about 3:18 am local time, a Boeing 747-131, registered N93106, suffered minor damage in an incident near Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 365 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 2, 1984 · about 3:18 am local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 365 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-131 · all 747-131s on the register
- Registration
- N93106 · registry record · serial 19672
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING DARKNESS, A BOEING 747, N93106, WAS BEING TAXIED FOR DEPARTURE WHEN ITS LEFT WING COLLIDED WITH THE RIGHT WING OF A BOEING 767 BEING TOWED IN THE SAME DIRECTION ON A PARALLEL TAXIWAY. BOTH CREWS HAD OBTAINED GROUND CONTROL CLEARANCES TO PERFORM THEIR RESPECTIVE OPERATIONS. IN THE AREA OF THE COLLISION, THE TAXIWAYS DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT SEPARATION FOR SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS OF WIDE-BODIED ACFT & STANDING PROCEDURES FOR GROUND CONTROLLERS PROHIBITED SUCH OPERATIONS. THE GROUND CONTROL POSITION WAS BEING WORKED BY A DEVELOPMENTAL CONTROLLER IN TRAINING UNDER SUPER- VISION OF A FULL PERFORMANCE CONTROLLER. THE ACFT BEING TOWED WAS BEING MOVED FROM GATE 75 WITH THE CALL SIGN 'UNITED 75 TOW.' THIS CALL SIGN WAS DERIVED BY USING THE COMPANY NAME (UNITED), THE GATE NUMBER (75), & THE WORD 'TOW.' WHILE IT WAS BEING TAXIED, UNITED FLT 75 OBTAINED CLEARANCE TO TAXI, BUT THE CONTROLLERS SAID THAT THEY DID NOT GET THE CALL SIGNS CONFUSED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,277 hours in all; 2,524 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 733,000 lb
- Seats: 453
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAX at 3:03 am
- Destination: LHR London,England OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:18 am from LAX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 17 | |||
| Passengers | 348 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. 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 LAX85IA037.