Boeing 757-222 incident near Los Angeles, California, June 8, 1993
On June 8, 1993 at about 5:59 pm local time, a Boeing 757-222, registered N540UA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Los Angeles, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 197 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the inadvertent deployment of an overwing emergency excape slide due to the inadequate latching of the slide compartment door following access by maintenance personnel. A factor in the accident was the inadequate door closing procedure specified by the manufacturer and the airline in the maintenance instructions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 1993 · about 5:59 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 197 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-222 · all 757-222s on the register
- Registration
- N540UA · no longer on the register · serial 25252
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft was climbing through 25,000 feet in light turbulence when the crew felt two jolts and heard a loud explosive noise followed by a sharp roll to the left. A visual inspection revealed that the left overwing emergency escape slide deployed and separated in flight. The crew returned to Los Angeles and made an uneventful landing. Post incident examination revealed that the slide compartment door was unlatched and open, and, the adjacent maintenance access door was open, with the latching handle in the unlocked position. The flight prior to the incident one had experienced two EICAS warning messages concerning the left overwing slide door. After landing, maintenance personnel accessed the compartment, cleaned a proximity switch then functionally tested the system. The flight was then dispatched with no open items. The maintenance closing procedure in effect at the time of the incident called for one mechanic to hold the bottom corners of the 33 inch wide slide door closed while manipulating the latching handle in a maintenance access door 12 inches aft of the slide door. The procedure has since been changed to require two mechanics, one to hold the door closed while the second manipulates the latching handle.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,400 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 17, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 230,000 lb
- Seats: 197
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 2037 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 13 | |||
| Passengers | 184 |
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.