Boeing 727-23 accident near Bellevue, Nebraska, November 8, 1985
On November 8, 1985, a Boeing 727-23, registered N1908, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bellevue, Nebraska (Eppley airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 71 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
- November 8, 1985
- Place
- Bellevue, Nebraska · Eppley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 71 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-23 · all 727-23s on the register
- Registration
- N1908 · no longer on the register · serial 19183
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A NIGHT ARRIVAL, A BOEING 727, OPERATING AS AMERICAN FLT 334, WAS VECTORED FOR AN APCH TO RWY 32L. WHILE DESCENDING THRU ABOUT 5000 FT MSL, APRX 12 MI SOUTH OF THE ARPT, THE ACFT REPORTEDLY COLLIDED WITH A FLOCK OF SNOW GEESE. THE ATC CONTROLLER HAD BEEN AWARE OF POSSIBLE BIRD ACTIVITY TO THE NORTH, BUT HE WAS NOT AWARE OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF THE BIRD STRIKE. THE AIRCREW CONTINUED THE APCH & LANDED. AFTER LANDING, BIRD STRIKE DAMAGE WAS FND ON THE RADOME, #6 SLAT, #1 & #3 LEADING EDGE FLAPS & ON THE FORWARD FUSELAGE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,976 hours in all; 12,345 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 49,806 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 2,660 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dallas TX at 9:54 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32L, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:46 pm from OMA, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 64 |
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.