Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11 accident near Los Angeles, California, May 25, 1996
On May 25, 1996 at about 10:13 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11, registered HL737, was substantially damaged in an accident 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; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the crew's failure to maintain the proper approach airspeed and rate of descent. Contributing to the accident was the crew's failure to follow the checklist and inadequate supervision by the pilot-in-command.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 25, 1996 · about 10:13 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Los Angeles International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11 · all MD-11s on the register
- Registration
- HL737 · no longer on the register · serial 48409
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was cleared to land on runway 25L at LAX with the first officer flying the approach manually. The crew of a commuter aircraft holding for departure witnessed the landing and the tail strike upon touchdown. According to information from the flight data recorder, the airspeed fell below Vref with a corresponding increase in the rate of descent. The attitude of the aircraft was 12 degrees nose high when the tail contacted the runway coincident with the main gear touchdown. The crew did not to use the appropriate checklist, nor arm the spoilers for the approach and 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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,785 hours in all; 3,072 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 4,871 as pilot in command; 1,115 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,896 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 20, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 618,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 4460 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 12:45 pm
- Destination: LAX CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 25L, 11,098 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,300 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from LAX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 HL737 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.