Boeing 727-200 incident near Oakland, California, October 24, 1985
On October 24, 1985 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Boeing 727-200, registered N6815A, suffered minor damage in an incident near Oakland, California (Oakland airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 90 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 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
- October 24, 1985 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Oakland, California · Oakland
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 90 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-200 · all 727-200s on the register
- Registration
- N6815A · registry record
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON OCTOBER 24, 1985, AN AMERICAN AIRLINES 727 COLLIDED WITH A PARKED UNITED AIRLINES 727 DURING A POWER BACK OPERATION AT OAKLAND, CA. IMC EXISTED AT THE TIME WITH VISIBILITY LIMITED TO 0 FT DUE TO FOG. THE AA AC SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE TO ITS LEFT WING AND THE UA AC RECIEVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO ITS TR WG. AA HAD TWO WING WALKERS AND A LEAD WALKER POSITIONED AT THE NOSE OF THE AA AC. THE LEAD PERSON STATED HER GOGGLES HAD FOGGED OVER AND COULDN'T CLEARLY SEE THE OTHER WING WALKERS. ADDTIONALLY, THE WANDS USED BY LEAD AND THE LT WING WALKER WERE INOPERATIVE. ACCORDING TO OTHER WITNESSES, LEAD DID NOT SEE THE STOP SIGNAL GIVEN BY THE LEFT WING WALKER. LEAD SAID SHE THOUGHT THERE WAS SUFFICIENT CLEARANCE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,300 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 178,000 lb
- Seats: 162
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-9 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 pm from OAK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 83 |
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.