Boeing 727-200 incident near Portland, Oregon, June 4, 1983
On June 4, 1983 at about 1:20 am local time, a Boeing 727-200, registered N296AS, was involved in an incident near Portland, Oregon (Portland International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 133 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 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
- June 4, 1983 · about 1:20 am local time
- Place
- Portland, Oregon · Portland International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 133 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-200 · all 727-200s on the register
- Registration
- N296AS · no longer on the register · serial 138407G
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A BROKEN HYDRAULIC LINE NEAR THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR ALLOWED HYDRAULIC FLUID TO LEAK ON TO THE APU EXHAUST. THE RESULTANT SMOKE THEN WAS PICKED UP BY THE LEFT AIRPACK AND WAS BLOWN INTO THE CABIN. THE CREW THEN ORDERED AN EVACUATIONOF THE PASSENGERS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 142,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alaska Airlines
The flight
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 125 |
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.