Boeing 727-225 incident near Washington, District of Columbia, July 11, 1987
On July 11, 1987 at about 10:38 pm local time, a Boeing 727-225, registered N8892Z, suffered minor damage in an incident near Washington, District of Columbia (Washington National airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 87 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 11, 1987 · about 10:38 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, District of Columbia · Washington National · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 87 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-225 · all 727-225s on the register
- Registration
- N8892Z · no longer on the register · serial 21861
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARR, THE ACFT'S RADAR SHOWED TSTMS IN THE AREA OF THE ARPT. AS THE FLT CONTD, ATIS INFO CHGD. WHEN THE PLTS CTCD WASHINGTON APCH CTL WITH OLD ATIS INFO, THE CTLR DID NOT CORRECT THE FLT. THEY WERE ADZD OF HVY RAIN, STRONG WNDS & A PIREP OF WNDSHR NR THE ARPT, BUT THEY WERE NOT INFORMED THAT THE LOW LVL WNDSHR ALERT SYS (LLWAS) WAS INOP. THE FLT WAS VECTORED FOR A ROSSLYN RWY 18 APCH. AFTER CTCG THE TWR, THE PLTS WERE ADZD THE WND WAS FM 230 DEG AT 35 TO 45 KTS. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, ON FINAL APCH, THE ACFT WAS 'INUNDATED' BY RAIN. THE CREW LOST SIGHT OF THE ARPT, BGN A MISSED APCH (M/A), & ENCTRD LARGE HAIL & MOD TURBC. DRG THE M/A, THE ACFT STOPPED CLBG AT APRX 600' & THE SPEED SLOWED FM 170 TO 138 KTS. THE CAPT APPLIED FULL PWR & THE ACFT RESPONDED, BUT THE N1 & EGT LMTS WERE EXCEEDED. THE CAPT REDUCED PWR & DIVERTED TO DULLES INTL ARPT. A POST FLT EXAM REVEALED THE 1ST & 2ND STAGE TURBINE BLADES OF ALL 3 ENGS HAD BEEN OVERTEMPED.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 12,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,354 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 172,700 lb
- Seats: 158
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Air Lines
The flight
- Departed from: MCO Orlando FL at 8:45 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 6,870 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 27 knots, gusting 47
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:39 pm from DCA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 79 |
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.