Boeing 767-232 incident near Boston, Massachusetts, July 13, 1987
On July 13, 1987 at about 2:58 am local time, a Boeing 767-232, registered N106DA, was involved in an incident near Boston, Massachusetts (Boston-Logan airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 159 people were on board or involved. 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
- July 13, 1987 · about 2:58 am local time
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts · Boston-Logan
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 159 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-232 · all 767-232s on the register
- Registration
- N106DA · registry record · serial 22218
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DELTA FLT 752, A BOEING 767, WAS NR THE OUTER MARKER (OM) ON AN ILS RWY 22L APCH WHEN THE FLT CONTROL SYS SENSED AN UNCOMMANDED GO-ARND. THE ACFT DRIFTED RGT OF THE LOCALIZER FOR OVR 1 MIN. AT ABT 1000' AGL, RWY 22R WAS SIGHTED TO THE LEFT & A NORMAL LANDING WAS MADE ON THAT RWY. RWY 22R WAS OFFSET 1500' TO THE RGT OF RWY 22L. A BOEING 727, WHICH PRECEDED THE INCIDENT ACFT, WAS CLEARED TO CROSS THE RGT RWY. THE CONTROLLER FAILED TO OBSERVE THE PROGRESS OF THE BOEING 767 AFTER IT PASSED THE OM. THE BOEING 727 CREW SAW THE BOEING 767 LANDING LIGHTS AS THE ACFT APCHD RWY 22R & NOTIFIED THE TOWER IT WOULD HOLD SHORT OF THE RWY. THE DELTA CAPTAIN HAD A REPUTATION FOR DOMINANT BEHAVIOR WHICH TENDED TO SUPPRESS OTHERS IN THE COCKPIT. THE AIRLINE OPS MANUAL GAVE MINIMAL DIRECTION CONCERNING MISSED APPROACHES. THE UNCOMMANDED GO-AROUND MALFUNCTION WAS TRACED TO A FAULTY WIRING HARNESS IN THE THROTTLE QUADRANT.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,210 hours in all; 1,760 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 12,480 as pilot in command; 4,170 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,895 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 16, 1987; 2,217 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 325,000 lb
- Seats: 255
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CVG Cincinnati OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22R, 7,860 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 163°F (73°C), dew point 158°F (70°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 am from BOS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 9 | |||
| Passengers | 150 |
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.