Boeing 767-322 incident near Miami, Florida, January 1, 1994
On January 1, 1994 at about 11:59 am local time, a Boeing 767-322, registered N648UA, was involved 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; 169 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
EMERGENCY PROCEDURE INITIATED BY AN UNQUALIFIED PERSON.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 1, 1994 · about 11:59 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 169 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-322 · all 767-322s on the register
- Registration
- N648UA · registry record · serial 25285
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN PUSHED FROM THE GATE AND THE #1 ENGINE HAD BEEN STARTED. DURING ENGINE START OF THE #2 ENGINE, A HIGH FUEL FLOW WAS OBSERVED BY THE FLIGHT CREW AND A PASSENGER IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRPLANE OBSERVED A FLAME AFT OF THE EXHAUST. THE PASSENGER SHOUTED 'FIRE', OPENED THE #2L DOOR AND DEPLOYED THE EMERGENCY ESCAPE SLIDE. THE PASSENGERS BEGAN AN UNCOMMANDED EVACUATION OF THE AIRPLANE. THE CAPTAIN WAS ADVISED BY A FLIGHT ATTENDANT THAT THE REMAINING PASSENGERS WANTED TO EVACUATE THE AIRPLANE AND THE CAPTAIN DIRECTED THAT THE #1L AND #1R DOORS BE OPENED AND THE EMERGENCY ESCAPE SLIDES UTILIZED. THE CAPTAIN SECURED THE ENGINES, ENTERED THE CABIN AND THEN STOPPED THE EVACUATION OF THE REMAINING 24 PEOPLE.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,061 hours in all; 355 in this make and model; 15,061 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,781 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 25, 1993; 846 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 407,000 lb
- Seats: 220
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 4060 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MIA at 11:59 am
- Destination: ORD Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 100° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 13,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 am from MIA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 162 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA94IA043.