Boeing 737 incident near Santa Monica, California, August 12, 1987
On August 12, 1987 at about 2:00 am local time, a Boeing 737, registered N754UA, was involved in an incident near Santa Monica, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 46 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 12, 1987 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Santa Monica, California
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 46 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- N754UA · no longer on the register · serial 19707
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLTS OF A BOEING 737 REPORTED THAT A NEAR-COLLISION OCCURRED APRX 2.5 MILES EAST OF THE SANTA MONICA VOR WHILE THEY WERE DESCENDING THROUGH AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 7400 FT MSL. THE COPLT SAW THE OTHER ACFT FIRST & TOOK IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION. HE ESTIMATED THEY PASSED THE UNIDENTIFIED ACFT WITH APRX 100 FT SEPARATION. THE OTHER ACFT WAS NOT VISUALLY OBSERVED BY THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED OUTSIDE THE LOS ANGELES TCA WHERE ENCODING ALTIMETERS WERE NOT REQUIRED.
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: 12,000 hours in all; 9,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 115,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SFO San Francisco CA
- Destination: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:51 am from LAX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 42 |
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.