Boeing 747-300 incident near Los Angeles, California, August 7, 1987
On August 7, 1987 at about 6:27 pm local time, a Boeing 747-300, registered J8163, was involved in an incident near Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 363 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
- August 7, 1987 · about 6:27 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 363 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-300 · all 747-300s on the register
- Registration
- J8163 · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARR, JAPAN AIRLINE FLT 62 (BOEING 747, JA-8163) WAS INITIALLY VECTORED (BY LAX ARTCC) FOR AN ILS RWY 24R APCH IN REDUCED VISIBILITY (HAZE). BFR TURNING FINAL, FLT 62 WAS ADZD OF AN ACFT THAT WAS 4 MI AHEAD. FLT 62 RPRTD THAT THEY HAD THE ACFT IN SIGHT. THE CTLR TOLD THEM TO TURN TO 230 DEG FOR FINAL APCH & TO FOLLOW THE ACFT AHEAD, THEN CLRD THE FLT FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 24R. AFTER CHGG TO TWR FREQ, THE TWR CTLR (LC-2) TOLD THE FLT TO CHG TO RWY 24L & THEN CLRDTHEM TO LAND. THE FLT ACKNOWLEDGED. LC-2 NOTED THE ACFT WAS TRACKING RGT OF COURSE & ASKED THE FLT TO VERIFY THE RWY WASIN SIGHT. THE CREW REPLIED THE RWY WAS NOT IN SIGHT & CONTD DSCNDG ON AN INBND HDG. LC-2 TOLD THE FLT THEY WOULD HAVE TOTURN SOUTHBOUND, THEN TOLD THEM TO 'TURN LEFT 10 DEG.' SUBSEQUENTLY, WHEN THE ACFT WAS ABT 3/4 MI EAST & 1 MI NORTH OF THE THRESHOLD AT 700 TO 800 FT, THE CREW MADE AN ABRUPT LEFT TURN TO ALIGN THE ACFT WITH THE RWY BY TURNING FM A HDG OF 240 DEG TO 175 DEG & THEN TURNING BACK TO THE RGT. THE ACFT ROLLED OUT OF THE TURN, JUST BFR TOUCHING DOWN ON THE RWY.
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, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,248 hours in all; 5,479 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 833,000 lb
- Seats: 495
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT-9D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Japan Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: RJAA Tokyo, Japan at 8:46 am
- Destination: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24L, 10,285 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from LAX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 24 | |||
| Passengers | 339 |
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.