Boeing 727-200 accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1987
On September 17, 1987 at about 7:40 pm local time, a Boeing 727-200, registered N774AL, was involved in an accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 70 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 17, 1987 · about 7:40 pm local time
- Place
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 70 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-200 · all 727-200s on the register
- Registration
- N774AL · registry record · serial 22984
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE DESCENDING OUT OF FLT LVL 270 FOR LNDG, USAIR FLIGHT 10 ENCOUNTERED LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE. PRIOR TO THIS THIS ENCOUNTER, THE CAPT ADVISED ALL PASSENGERS AND CABIN CREW TO REMAIN SEATED AND TO ENGAGE THEIR SEATBELTS. A SIMILAR ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE BY THE CABIN ATTENDANTS. AN ELDERLY INVALID FEMALE PASSENGER STATED SHE HAD TO USE TO THE RESTROOM PRIOR TO LNDG SINCE HER WALKING DEVICE WAS BEING SHIPPED AND SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE FACILITIES AT THE ARPT. THE ATTENDANTS ATTEMPTED TO DISSUADE HER BUT SHE PREVAILED. TWO OF THEM HELPED HER TO HER FEET AND WERE IN THE PROCESS OF ASSISTING HER DOWN THE ISLE WHEN THEY WERE ALL THROWN TO THE FLOOR BY INFLIGHT TURBULENCE. THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED TWO BROKEN BONES AND OTHER INJURIES. THE FLT WAS GIVEN SPECIAL HANDLING AND LNDD WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site 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 NYC87FA257.