Boeing 727-214 accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, January 20, 1986
On January 20, 1986 at about 1:44 am local time, a Boeing 727-214, registered N545PS, was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada (Las Vegas airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 7 people had minor injuries; 138 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
- January 20, 1986 · about 1:44 am local time
- Place
- Las Vegas, Nevada · Las Vegas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 7 people had minor injuries; 138 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-214 · all 727-214s on the register
- Registration
- N545PS · registry record · serial 20169
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER ACTIVATION OF NO 1 ENGINE FIRE WARNING SIGNALS A SECOND TIME, FLT CREW DECLARED EMERG AND RETURNED FOR LNDG. FUEL DUMP WAS SEEN BY SOME GRND OBSERVERS AS SMOKE TRAIL AND THIS WAS REPORTED TO FLT CREW. ACFT WAITING TAKEOFF REPORT THAT NO SMOKE OR FIRE WAS VISIBLE BUT FUEL DUMP STILL IN PROGRESS WAS OVERRIDDEN BY OTHER TRANSMISSIONS. EMERG EVACUATION VIA SLIDES WAS INITIATED AFTER ACFT CAME TO A STOP ON RUNWAY. EIGHT PASSENGERS SUSTAINED REPORTED INJURIES DURING EVACUATION. FIRE WARNING TRACED TO SHORT-CIRCUIT IN SYSTEM; ACFT RETURNED TO SERVICE.
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: 3,775 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 31,881 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 173,000 lb
- Seats: 164
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Skybus, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LAS Las Vegas NV at 1:30 am
- Destination: MLI Moline IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 25, 12,634 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 080° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 am from LAS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 7 | 130 |
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.