Boeing 737-291 incident near North Platte, Nebraska, August 13, 1982
On August 13, 1982 at about 4:28 am local time, a Boeing 737-291, registered N7345F, suffered minor damage in an incident near North Platte, Nebraska (Lee Bird Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 33 people had minor injuries. 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
- August 13, 1982 · about 4:28 am local time
- Place
- North Platte, Nebraska · Lee Bird Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 33 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-291 · all 737-291s on the register
- Registration
- N7345F · no longer on the register · serial 21750
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THAT THE FIRST OFFICER WAS HAND FLYING THE AIRCRAFT ON THE IFR APPROACH. BOTH FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS SAW THE APPROACH AND RUNWAY LIGHTS AND CONFIRMED THE CLOUD CEILING WAS 300 FT AND VISIBILITY WAS 3/4 MILE. THE APPROACH WAS CONTINUED AND THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED TO 200 FT AGL. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LEVELED MOMENTARILY BECAUSE OF LOST VISUAL CONTACT AND THE DESCENT WAS CONTINUED UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED PATCHY FOG THAT OBSCURED THE RUNWAY. THE CREW STATED THAT THEY WERE GIVING THOUGHTS OF GOING AROUND, WHEN THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS, BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT WAS RETURNED TO THE RUNWAY AND STOPPED.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,065 hours in all; 760 in this make and model; 143 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,054 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 837 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 160,000 lb
- Seats: 111
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P & W JT8D-17 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C Scottsbluff NE at 10:56 pm
- Destination: C North Platte NE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30R, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 156°F (69°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 28 |
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.