Boeing 727-35 incident near Bahamas, Bf, May 24, 1984
On May 24, 1984 at about 6:50 pm local time, a Boeing 727-35, registered N4620, was involved in an incident near Bahamas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 125 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- May 24, 1984 · about 6:50 pm local time
- Place
- Bahamas, Burkina Faso
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 125 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-35 · all 727-35s on the register
- Registration
- N4620 · registry record · serial 19165
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE CLIMBING THRU FL 240, THE AIRCREW NOTED THAT THE #1 ENG FIRE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THEY SECURED THE ENG IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ENG FIRE CHECKLIST PROCEDURE, THEN DIVERTED FOR AN UNSCHEDULED LANDING AT MIAMI, FL. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE STARTER VALVE, PN 392688-1, HAD STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION. THE AIRCREW DID NOT RECOGNIZE THIS PROBLEM DURING THE STARTING SEQUENCE; THEREFORE, HOT BLEED AIR CONTINUED INTO THE STARTER SYS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE STARTER DISINTEGRATED & DAMAGED WIRING & FUEL & OIL LINES, THEN A FIRE STARTED.
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: 5,700 hours in all; 100 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 45,420 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 555 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 161,000 lb
- Seats: 119
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gulf Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MYNN Nassau OF
- Destination: KIAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 165° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 119 |
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.