Douglas DC-8-63 accident near Miami, Florida, April 23, 1984
On April 23, 1984 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Douglas DC-8-63, registered N940JW, suffered minor damage in an accident near Miami, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 188 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 1984 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 188 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-8-63 · all DC-8-63s on the register
- Registration
- N940JW · no longer on the register · serial 46155
- 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 ACFT ENCOUNTERED INFLIGHT TURBULENCE WHILE DESCENDING INTO MIAMI. FOUR PEOPLE WERE TAKEN TO LOCAL HOSPITALS. A FLT ATTENDANT & TWO PAX WERE TREATED & RELEASE. ONE PAX REMAINED IN THE HOSPITAL FOR 12 DAYS DUE TO BACK INJURIES. THE FLT ATTENDANTS INDICATED THAT ALL PAX HAD THEIR SEAT BELTS ON. THE INJURED PAX STATED HE WAS PULLED BACK DOWN BY HIS SEAT BELT AFTER IMPACTING THE OVERHEAD. THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS ON. THE AREA NORTH & SOUTH OF MIAMI ARPT WAS EXPERIENCING PRE-FRONTAL THUNDERSTORMS WITH TOPS TO 40,000 FT.
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: 10,000 hours in all; 7,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,380 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 1,442 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 350,000 lb
- Seats: 250
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY
- Destination: Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 12 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from MIA, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 11 | ||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 177 |
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.