Douglas DC-9-51 incident near Honolulu, Hawaii, August 8, 1996
On August 8, 1996 at about 5:57 pm local time, a Douglas DC-9-51, registered N420EA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Honolulu, Hawaii (Honolulu International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 76 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Improper installation of a flexible hydraulic hose by company maintenance personnel and inadequate inspection of the work by company inspectors which resulted in the loose hose becoming entangled in the nose gear linkage, preventing complete extension of the nose gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 1996 · about 5:57 pm local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Honolulu International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 76 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-9-51 · all DC-9-51s on the register
- Registration
- N420EA · registry record · serial 47689
- 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 nose landing gear did not fully extend as the flight approached its destination. After confirming the unsafe gear position through an inspection window, the crew completed emergency checklist procedures and readied the passenger cabin for an emergency landing while returning to the departure airport. In the ensuing emergency landing the nose gear collapsed and the aircraft came to a stop on the runway on its nose. A partial cabin evacuation was completed via the tailcone slide before it was determined safe to exit the remaining passengers and crew through the forward cabin doors. Inspection revealed that an improperly secured flexible hydraulic hose had engaged the nose wheel downlock mechanism preventing it from locking over center. The flexible hose was installed temporarily to replace a leaking rigid line.
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: 11,000 hours in all; 4,200 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 59 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 41,097 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 8, 1996; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 122,000 lb
- Seats: 144
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HNL at 5:00 pm
- Destination: LIH Lihue HI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8R, 12,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from HNL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 71 |
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.