Boeing 727 incident near Miami, Florida, March 16, 1986
On March 16, 1986 at about 5:10 am local time, a Boeing 727, registered N8861E, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 140 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
- March 16, 1986 · about 5:10 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 140 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727 · all 727s on the register
- Registration
- N8861E · no longer on the register · serial 20623
- 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 ARRIVAL AT FT LAUDERDALE, THE AIRCREW ATTEMPTED TO EXTEND THE GEAR, BUT AT FIRST, THEY WERE UNABLE TO GET A SAFE 'DOWN' INDICATION FOR THE RGT MAIN GEAR. AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR, THEY WERE ABLE TO INSURE THAT BOTH MAIN GEAR HAD EXTENDED& WERE LOCKED. THEY DIVERTED TO MIAMI, BUT BY THEN, THEY WERE UNABLE TO EXTEND THE NOSE GEAR BY USING THE NORMAL GEAR EXTENSION SYS & THEY HAD ONLY 4000 LBS OF FUEL REMAINING. THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO LAND WITHOUT MANUALLY EXTENDING THE NOSE GEAR; HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE LOW FUEL CONDITION AND BELIEVED THAT HE MIGHT COMPROMISE THE MAIN LANDING GEAR POSITION BY PLACING THE GEAR HANDLE IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION WHILE THE 'A' HYDRAULIC SYS WAS OFF. AN EXAM REVEALED THE ROD END OF THE LANDING GEAR LOCK ACTUATOR, PN 69-30537-4, HAD FAILED. A METALLURGICAL EXAM REVEALED THE ROD END HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE IN THE THREADED AREA WHERE CORROSION HAD OCCURRED. ALSO, AN ELEC FAILURE WAS FND IN THE LANDING GEAR LOGIC RESOLUTION CIRCUIT THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED AN IMPROPER INDICATION OF THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,713 hours in all; 5,715 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,498 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 2, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGA New York NY
- Destination: FLL Ft.Lauderdale FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9R, 13,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; not recorded at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:12 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 133 |
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 N8861E 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.