Boeing 767-222 incident near San Fransisco, California, March 31, 1986
On March 31, 1986 at about 11:04 pm local time, a Boeing 767-222, registered N609UA, was involved in an incident near San Fransisco, California (San Francisco airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 192 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 31, 1986 · about 11:04 pm local time
- Place
- San Fransisco, California · San Francisco · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 192 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-222 · all 767-222s on the register
- Registration
- N609UA · no longer on the register · serial 21870
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 3000 FEET AGL, DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB PHASE OF THE FLIGHT, BOTH ENGINES FLAMED OUT. THE CREW WAS ABLE TO RESTART BOTH ENGINES AND RETURN TO THE AIRPORT OF DEPARTURE FOR AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 18,059 hours in all; 356 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,053 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 26, 1986; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 300,000 lb
- Seats: 252
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7R4D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SFO San Francisco CA
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1R, 9,500 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:14 pm from SFO, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 185 |
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 N609UA 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.