Boeing 727-225A incident near Phoenix, Arizona, January 5, 1999
On January 5, 1999 at about 4:51 pm local time, a Boeing 727-225A, registered N804MA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Sky Harbor airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 180 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the ground handling personnel to properly secure the aft cargo door following the loading of the late arriving baggage. A factor in the incident was an intermittent cargo door warning light circuit due to contamination in the proximity switch terminals.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 1999 · about 4:51 pm local time
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona · Phoenix Sky Harbor · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 180 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-225A · all 727-225As on the register
- Registration
- N804MA · registry record · serial 22435
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During takeoff, a passenger in row 32 saw the rear cargo door open as the airplane rotated and notified a flight attendant, who immediately advised the cockpit. The flight crew heard and felt bangs and airframe vibrations, declared an emergency, and returned for a landing without incident. Airport fire personnel saw the cargo door open 90 degrees and the handle to be in or flush with the door as it stopped on the runway. Crew interviews established that the airplane was late being repositioned to the loading area for a scheduled 0830 departure and arrived there at 0800. The captain said the flight engineer was hustling to finish his duties before departure, and after that he performed his final walk-around, which included checking the cargo doors, there were no cargo door lights on the annunciator panel. The captain said that the load manifest showed 172 passengers; 168 passengers were already on the airplane and 2 others arrived late. The ground handlers gave him a final count of 202 bags loaded in the cargo compartments before the late arriving passengers. The ground handling company stated they were positive they loaded a total of 202 bags onboard the airplane, although 5-6 bags were loaded just before the aircraft left. A postincident bag count revealed that there were 208 bags onboard the airplane. The ground handling company said that they were not rushed while working the airplane. With the handle closed, the door will not close flush with the doorframe. The aft cargo door proximity switch was tested and contamination was found between contact terminals; however, no determination could be made whether it would cause an indication anomaly on the annunciator panel. The cargo door open warning light and circuit functioned normally during postincident functional tests. According to the airline's Flight Operations Manual, the flight engineer is responsible for supervising the loading of the aircraft and ensuring that all doors are properly closed and locked.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 5,000 as pilot in command; 10 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 42,268 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 18, 1998; 114 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 191,000 lb
- Seats: 180
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHX at 4:50 pm
- Destination: BNA Nashville TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8R, 10,300 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:55 pm from PHX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 173 |
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 N804MA 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.