Israel Aircraft Industries 1121 accident near Jackson, Mississippi, July 16, 1987
On July 16, 1987 at about 6:45 am local time, a Israel Aircraft Industries 1121, registered N133ME, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jackson, Mississippi (Allen C. Thompson airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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 accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 1987 · about 6:45 am local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Jackson, Mississippi · Allen C. Thompson · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Israel Aircraft Industries 1121
- Registration
- N133ME · registry record · serial 50
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE GROUND RUN AT 80 KTS THE CABIN DOOR UNSAFE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED WITH HEAVY BRAKING & DEPLOYMENT OF THE THRUST REVERSERS. THE DOOR WAS THEN OPENED & RECLOSED WHICH EXTINGUISHED THE LIGHT, & A SECOND TAKEOFF WAS ATTEMPTED. APRX 3500 FT DOWN THE 8500 FT RWY AT 80 KTS THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED WITH HEAVY BRAKING & DEPLOYMENT OF THE THRUST REVERSERS THOUGH THEY WERE REPORTED AS INEFFECTIVE & SLOW TO DEPLOY, RESPECTIVELY. THE ACFT THEN DEPARTED THE RWY, COLLIDED WITH A LOCALIZER ANTENNA AFTER WHICH THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS SHEARED OFF. THE ACFT THEN GROUND LOOPED & CAME TO REST. A COMPANY MECHANIC STATED THAT ROD ENDS FOR THE DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM HAD BEEN REPLACED PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, HOWEVER ACFT MAINT MANUALS DID NOT CONTAIN INFORMATION AS TO THE CORRECT PROCEDURE FOR THEIR REPLACEMENT OR ADJUSTMENT. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN FLOWN APRX 8 HRS WITH NO DISCREPANCIES NOTED. THE FLT WAS OPERATED AS A LIFEGUARD FLT.
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 instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,366 hours in all; 264 in this make and model; 124 in the last 90 days; 1,990 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,996 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 8, 1987; 110 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 17,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CJ610-1 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Trans Aero Corporation
The flight
- Destination: MEM Memphis TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 15L, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:49 am from JAN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N133ME on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Israel Aircraft Industries 304 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Ge CJ610-1 1 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International · nearest airport
- Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Mississippi 845 since 1982 · 90 in the last ten years
- Mississippi 2,601 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/MIA87LA207.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.