Lockheed L-1011-385-1 accident near Jamaica, New York, February 15, 1986
On February 15, 1986 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Lockheed L-1011-385-1, registered N309EA, was involved in an accident near Jamaica, New York (Jfk Internatl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 14 people had minor injuries; 238 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
- February 15, 1986 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Jamaica, New York · Jfk Internatl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 14 people had minor injuries; 238 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L-1011-385-1 L-1011-385
- Registration
- N309EA · registry record · serial 193A-1010
- 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 NO. 3 ENG TORCHED DURING A START ATTEMPT AND RESULTED IN A INTERNAL ENG TAILCONE FIRE. SEVERAL PAXS PANICKED UPON SEEING THE TORCH FLAME/TAILCONE FIRE AND BETWEEN 30 TO 50 PAXS MADE AN UNAUTHORIZED EVACUATION OF THE ACFT VIA THE L3 AND L4 EXITS. PAXS INITIATED THE EVACUATION AT THE UNATTENDED L3 EXIT. A F/A MISTAKENLY ASSUMED THAT AN AUTHORIZED EVACUATION WAS IN EFFECT AND THEREFORE OPENED L4 AND ALLOWED FURTHER PAXS TO EVACUATE. THE EVACUATION OF THE ACFT WAS LATER STOPPED AND BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL. THE FLT CREW WAS AT FIRST NEITHER AWARE OF THE ENG TORCH AND SUBSEQUENT TAILCONE FIRE NOR THE EVACUATION. WHEN THEY LEARNED OF THE TAILCONE FIRE THEY MOTORED THE ENG IN ORDER TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE WHICH THEY BELIEVED WAS UNDER CONTROL AND THEREFORE REQUESTED NO EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. HOWEVER, ATC WAS ALERTED BY PILOTS IN NEARBY ACFT ABOUT THE OCCURRENCE AND ATC NOTIFIED CFR WHO RESPONDED TO THE SITE. THE NOS. 1 & 2 ENGS REMAINED RUNNING DURING THE INCIDENT AND CREATED A HAZARDOUS CONDITION FOR CFR/EVACUEES. ENGS WERE LATER 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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,468 hours in all; 3,509 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 496,000 lb
- Seats: 293
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB-211-2B (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Eastern Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: Jamaica NY
- Destination: MIA Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 pm from JFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 11 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 14 | 227 |
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.