Boeing 727-2Q8 incident near Las Vegas, Nevada, August 8, 1998
On August 8, 1998 at about 7:12 am local time, a Boeing 727-2Q8, registered N831L, suffered minor damage in an incident near Las Vegas, Nevada (Mccarran International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 155 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The airport personnel's failure to properly mark the ditch hazard and the taxiway boundaries surrounding it, and, the captain's failure to maintain a situational awareness of his location with respect to the taxiway layout. The dark night lighting condition was a factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 1998 · about 7:12 am local time
- Place
- Las Vegas, Nevada · Mccarran International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 155 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-2Q8 · all 727-2Q8s on the register
- Registration
- N831L · registry record · serial 21826
- 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 flight had just pushed back from a new terminal at the airport. The crew had checked the NOTAMS for the flight and discussed one, which cautioned pilots to be aware of a ditch that was not easily visible nor marked, which was located directly across from the new terminal. The crew discussed the ditch during preflight and also on their earlier arrival into the airport; however, the crew did not see the ditch. The crew taxied across the ramp to a hold point and called ground control for a taxi clearance. Initial taxi clearance had the airplane turning right on the closest parallel taxiway. Due to weight considerations, the crew requested a runway change. Ground control then had the airplane turn right on the outboard parallel taxiway. The captain said he looked down at the taxiway diagram and confused his position with taxiway C4 rather than Spot 4. The captain then taxied the airplane forward across taxiway C, through the ditch, and made a right turn onto taxiway Bravo. After encountering the ditch, the crew came to a consensus that there was nothing unusual about the airplane to preclude continuing the flight. The flight attendants did not convey to the flight crew the extent of motion in the back of the airplane, nor did the flight crew ask the flight attendants about their ride in the back of the airplane. The flight to their intended destination was uneventful. The oncoming crew discovered the minor damage to the airplane. At the time of the incident, the infield area was not lit or marked to help illuminate the ditch, and the ditch had no boundary hazard markings. One month prior to this event, another air carrier had one of their airplanes taxi through the same area. After the two incidents, airport operations ordered and placed plastic reflective delineators around the ditch area.
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: 8,100 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 57,314 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 6, 1998; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 184,200 lb
- Seats: 152
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Airlines INC.
The flight
- Destination: CVG Cincinnati OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7L, 14,505 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 am from LAS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 149 |
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.