Boeing 727-225 incident near Miami, Florida, July 19, 1986
On July 19, 1986 at about 10:11 pm local time, a Boeing 727-225, registered N8872Z, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 99 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
- July 19, 1986 · about 10:11 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 99 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-225 · all 727-225s on the register
- Registration
- N8872Z · no longer on the register · serial 21290
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FLT WAS UNABLE TO EXTEND NOSE GEAR AND A NOSE GEAR UP LANDING WAS MADE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE NOSE GEAR DRAG BRACE TO BE LOCKED IN THE UP POSITION. DISASSEMBLY OF THE DRAG BRACE REVEALED THE LINK ASSEMBLIES WHICH CONNECT THE LOCKING PAWLS TO THE LOCKING ACTUATOR HAD FAILED. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED THE LINK ASSEMBLIES FAILED DUE TO CORROSION CRACKING. CORROSION WAS CAUSED BY ELECTROLYTIC REACTION BETWEEN THE METAL IN THE BUSHING OF THE LINK AND THE METAL OF THE LINK. EXAMINATION OF THE BUSHINGS INSTALLED IN THE LINK REVEALED THE ABSENCE OF CADMIUM PLATING AND CHROMATE COATING. THE BUSHINGS WERE OBTAINED BY EASTERN AIRLINES FROM A VENDOR WHO WAS MANUFACTURING THE PART USING PLANS SUPPLIED BY EASTERN. THE EASTERN PLANS CALL FOR CADMIUM PLATING AND CHROMATE COATING.
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: 14,500 hours in all; 200 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 168,000 lb
- Seats: 157
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Air Lines,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: MKJP Kingston OF at 8:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9R, 13,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:12 pm from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 91 |
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.