Boeing 747-200 incident near Los Angeles, California, August 13, 1991
On August 13, 1991 at about 3:21 am local time, a Boeing 747-200, registered ZKNZW, was involved in an incident near Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 298 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INADEQUATE RUNWAY SAFETY AREA INHERENT IN THE AIRPORT DESIGN, AND, THE ATC CLEARANCE PROCEDURES IN USE WHICH FAILED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE SUBSTANDARD RUNWAY SAFETY AREA. FACTORS IN THE INCIDENT WERE THE DARK NIGHT TIME CONDITIONS AND THE INADEQUATE STANDARDS USED BY ATC TO DETERMINE CLEARANCE PROCEDURES AT AIRPORTS WHICH DO NOT MEET CURRENT DESIGN CRITERIA.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 13, 1991 · about 3:21 am local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 298 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-200 · all 747-200s on the register
- Registration
- ZKNZW · 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
THE FLT CREW OF AN AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 747 RPRTD A NR COLLISION WITH THE TAIL OF A FEDERAL EXPRESS BOEING 727 ON TKOF. DUE TO LACK OF A TAIL LOGO OR STROBE LGTS, THE 727 WAS NOT VISIBLE TO THE 747 CREW TIL JUST BFR ROTATION. THE 747 CREW ESTD THEY VERTICALLY CLRD THE 727 TAIL BY 100 FT. THE 727 WAS BEING PSND FM A CARGO RAMP TO A MAINT FACILITY. THE ACFT WAS BEING TAXIED BY 2 MECHANICS WITH A CLNC FM ATC. ATC TAPES REVEALED THE 727 WAS CLRD ACROSS THE RWY BY THE LCL CTLR, 32 SEC BFR THE 747'S TKOF CLNC. AS THE 727 CROSSED THE RWY, THE MECHANICS SAW A UNITED 767 TURNING ONTO A PERPENDICULAR TWY DRCTLY AHD & THEY STOPPED THEIR ACFT TIL THEY COULD CTC GND CTL & CLARIFY THE SITUATION. TAPES SHOWED THE 767 HAD BEEN TOLD BY GND CTL TO HOLD FOR THE 727 DRG THE TIME THE 727 WAS ON THE LCL CTL FREQ. THE ARPT DESIGN & LAYOUT DID NOT MEET CURRENT RWY SAFETY AREA DIMENSIONAL CRITERIA CONCERNING SEPN OF PARALLEL TWYS FM THE RWY. THE ATC PROC IN USE BY THE TWR DID NOT CONSIDER THE INADQT RWY SAFETY AREA DEMENSIONS.
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
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 2, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 778,000 lb
- Seats: 495
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7R4G2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air New Zealand
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA at 3:21 am
- Destination: HNL Honolulu HI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 25, 12,091 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 28,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:21 am from LAX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 19 | |||
| Passengers | 279 |
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.