Boeing 747-200 accident near Miami, Florida, March 3, 1988
On March 3, 1988 at about 10:40 am local time, a Boeing 747-200, registered LVOOZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Miami, Florida (Miami Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 349 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 3, 1988 · about 10:40 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 349 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-200 · all 747-200s on the register
- Registration
- LVOOZ · no longer on the register · serial 22592
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER LANDING THE BOEING 747-200 AIRLINER, THE CAPTAIN INCREASED THE PITCH ATTITUDE TO 11 DEGREES NOSE UP BY PULLING THE CONTROL COLUMN AFT. THE TAIL STRUCK THE GROUND CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE BOEING AIRPLANE FLIGHT MANUAL PRESCRIBES THAT THE APPROPRIATE PROCEDURE IS TO FLY THE NOSE GEAR DOWN TO THE RUNWAY AFTER LANDING.
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: foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,703 hours in all; 4,399 in this make and model; 118 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23,243 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 22, 1988; 8,000 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 355,000 lb
- Seats: 350
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D-7Q (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBGL Rio De Janeiro OF at 3:00 am
- Destination: KMIA Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9L, 13,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:49 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 22 | |||
| Passengers | 327 |
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.