Boeing 737-222 accident near Little Rock, Arkansas, August 10, 1988
On August 10, 1988 at about 2:07 pm local time, a Boeing 737-222, registered N9060U, was involved in an accident near Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 5 people were seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries; 97 others were unhurt. 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
- August 10, 1988 · about 2:07 pm local time
- Place
- Little Rock, Arkansas · Little Rock · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries; 97 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-222 · all 737-222s on the register
- Registration
- N9060U · no longer on the register · serial 9560
- 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 SKED AIR CARRIER FLT WAS ABORTED AFTER THE CAPT HEARD A NOISE AND FELT A VIBRATION EMANATING FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ACFT, WHICH AT THE TIME, WAS PERCEIVED AS A 'BLOWN' TIRE. THE ACFT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY STOPPED ON THE ACTIVE RWY, AND AN ORDER FM THE CAPTAIN TO REMAIN SEATED WAS GIVEN. THIS ORDER WAS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY RESCINDED WHEN IT WAS LEARNED, THROUGH A VISUAL SIGHTING, THAT THE LEFT ENG WAS ON FIRE. THE CAPTAIN ISSUED A FIRM ORDER AND EVACUATION OF THE PAX WAS INITIATED. THE SMOKE FROM THE LEFT ENG PROHIBITED PAX USING THE OVERWING EXITS FROM DEPLANING IN THE PRESCRIBED MANNER. THE PAX WHO WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED WERE KNOWN TO HAVE JUMPED FROM THE FRONT OF THE WING INSTEAD OF USING THE WING FLAP, WHICH ACTS AS A SLIDE OFF THE REAR OF THE WING. EXAM OF THE LEFT ENG REVEALED FAILURE OF THE 4TH STAGE TURBINE SECTION.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 8,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,000 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 25, 1987; 2,856 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 115,500 lb
- Seats: 109
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LIT Little Rock AR at 2:03 pm
- Destination: CHI Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:59 pm from LIT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 5 | 91 |
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.