List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727
Since the first flight of the prototype in February 1963, a total of 120 of the 1,832 Boeing 727s built have been lost due to crashes, terrorist acts and other causes as of March 2024.[1]
1960s
August 16, 1965: United Airlines Flight 389, a new 727-100, crashed into Lake Michigan 30 miles (26 nmi; 48 km) east northeast of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The crew was told to descend to and maintain an altitude of 6,000 feet (1,800 m), which was the last radio communication with the flight. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB, the primary air mishap investigation body in the United States at the time) investigators were not able to determine why the airliner continued its descent into the water. All 30 people on board perished.[2]
November 8, 1965: American Airlines Flight 383, a 727-100, crashed on approach to the Greater Cincinnati Airport. Of the 62 people on board, only three passengers and one flight attendant survived. The investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the crew to properly monitor the altimeters during a visual approach into deteriorating visibility conditions.[3]
February 4, 1966: All Nippon Airways Flight 60, a 727-100, was on approach to Tokyo's Haneda Airport at night when it crashed into the sea 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from the airport for reasons unknown, killing all 133 on board.[5]
November 15, 1966: Pan Am Flight 708, a 727-100, crashed near Dallgow, Germany (then East Germany) while on initial approach to Tegel Airport following an unexplained premature descent, killing the three crew.[6]
November 12, 1967: An American Airlines 727-100 was flying over Alamosa, Colorado, when a bomb detonated in the rear baggage compartment, destroying three bags. The plane landed one hour and 45 minutes later. The FBI arrested the man responsible.[8]
February 16, 1968: Civil Air Transport Flight 010, a 727-100C, crashed on approach to Taipei, Republic of China. The flight carried 63 passengers and crew; 18 passengers, 3 crew and one person on the ground died.[9]
March 21, 1968: United Airlines Flight 9963, a 727-100QC operating on a cargo flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to San Francisco, crashed shortly after takeoff; all three crew members survived.[10]
January 18, 1969: United Airlines Flight 266 crashed into Santa Monica Bay, California after the pilots became disoriented following an unexplained electrical failure, killing all 38 on board. The crash led the FAA to require all transport aircraft to carry backup instruments powered by an alternate power source.[16]
September 4, 1971: Alaska Airlines Flight 1866, a 727-100, crashed into a mountain while on approach to Juneau, Alaska. A contributing cause involved the aircrew receiving erroneous navigational information for the approach. All seven crew members and 104 passengers died.[19]
November 24, 1971: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 was hijacked by passenger D. B. Cooper while en route from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. After receiving a payment of $200,000 and four parachutes when he was in Seattle, he told the pilots to fly to Mexico, and jumped out of the aircraft from the aft airstair over Washington or Oregon. Cooper's fate is unknown. This incident led to the addition of a device named the "Cooper vane" on all 727s to prevent the airstair from being lowered while in flight. The 'Cooper' 727 continued in service until scrapped in the early 1990s in Missouri.[20]
May 5, 1972: Frederick Hahneman hijacked Eastern Air Lines Flight 175 en route from Allentown, Pa, to Miami, Fl. After receiving $303,000 and six parachutes he ordered the pilot to fly to Honduras, his birth country, where he jumped out and went on the run before finally surrendering.[21][22][23]
May 25, 1972: an hour after a LAN Chile took off from Panama City, a pipe bomb detonated in the ice water fountain service compartment, causing a rapid decompression. The pilots managed to land safely in Montego Bay, Jamaica.[24]
August 16, 1972: During an attempted coup d'état, jets from the Royal Moroccan Air Force fired upon the 727 transporting King Hassan II of Morocco while he was traveling to Rabat. After the aircraft survived the attack, the king awarded it a medal of honor.[25]
February 21, 1973: Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, a 727-200 flying over the Sinai Desert was fired upon by Israeli air force aircraft as it was suspected of being an enemy military aircraft. Of 113 people on board, 108 died.[26]
September 15, 1974: Air Vietnam Flight 706 was hijacked by a former South Vietnamese army officer who ordered that it be flown to Hanoi. The pilots attempted to land at Phan Rang Air Base, but the aircraft crashed just short of it for unknown reasons. It was thought that the hijacker exploded grenades in the cockpit after the crew refused to comply with his demands. All 75 persons aboard died.
November 12, 1975: Eastern Air Lines Flight 576 a 727-225, (registration N8838E) struck the ground about 282 feet short of runway 23 at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, North Carolina, bounced and touched down on the runway, then slid to a stop off the right side of the runway 4,150 feet past the runway threshold. The accident occurred during an instrument landing system approach when the airplane encountered unexpectedly heavy rain while 100 feet above the ground. The airplane was damaged substantially from the first ground contact, both main landing gears and the No. 3 engine separated from the aircraft. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.. Of the 139 persons aboard the airplane eight people were injured; one injured seriously there were no fatalities.[29]
10 September 1976: TWA Flight 355 was hijacked by five members of the "Fighters for Free Croatia" group and ultimately flown to Paris
19 September 1976: Turkish Airlines Flight 452, a 727-200 (registration TC-JBH, named Antalya) on a domestic flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport (IST/LTBA) to Antalya Airport (AYT/LTAI) struck high ground in Karatepe Mountains during an attempted landing in Isparta instead of Antalya by pilot error. All the eight crew and 146 passengers on board died.[31]
November 19, 1977: TAP Portugal Flight 425 overran the runway at Madeira Airport and plunged over a steep bank, bursting into flames; 131 of the 164 people on board died.[32]
September 25, 1978: Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 crashed after colliding with a Cessna 172 aircraft in San Diego; killing all 137 people on board the 727 plus 2 on the Cessna and a further 7 on the ground for a total of 144 deaths.[33]
March 14, 1979: Alia Royal Jordanian Flight 600, a 727-200, crashed at Doha Airport in Qatar after an approach during a thunderstorm; 45 of the 64 passengers on board died.[34]
April 4, 1979: TWA Flight 841 went into a spiral dive over Saginaw, Michigan after a slat failed to retract; the aircraft landed safely at Detroit with no loss of life. The pilots blamed the incident on mechanical failure, but the NTSB blamed the pilots.
June 20, 1979: American Airlines Flight 293 was hijacked by Serbian nationalist and anti-communist Nikola Kavaja and flown back to New York City where he demanded and received a Boeing 707 to fly to South Africa but flew to Ireland instead. Kavaja planned to crash the 707 into the headquarters of the Yugoslav Communist Party, but he surrendered to Irish authorities who then turned him over to American authorities.
April 25, 1980: Dan-Air Flight 1008, a 727-100 crashed in Tenerife. All 146 passengers and crew on board died when the aircraft hit terrain while circling.[39]
June 8, 1982: VASP Flight 168, 727-200 registration PP-SRK from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Fortaleza collided with a mountain while on approach to Fortaleza. The captain descended below a minimum descent altitude. All 137 passengers and crew died.[40][41]
December 7, 1983: the Madrid runway disaster took place where a departing Iberia 727 struck an AviacoDouglas DC-9 causing the death of 93 passengers and crew. 51 of the 93 passengers on board the 727 died.[44]
January 23, 1985: a passenger detonated a bomb in a lavatory on board a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, killing him. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 727-200 registered CP-1276, was substantially damaged but could safely be landed. There were no fatalities among the other 119 passengers and seven crew members.[46]
June 12, 1985: Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines Flight 402, a 727-200 (registration JY-AFW) operated on a flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Amman, Jordan. Shortly before takeoff, five Shiite Arab men armed with automatic weapons and explosives, hijacked the airplane. They demanded to be flown to Tunis, Tunisia. Due to fuel shortage, the flight was diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus. Permission to land at Tunis was refused, so the flight diverted to Palermo. After refueling there, the aircraft was flown back to Beirut. All occupants (three pilots, six flight attendants, eight sky marshals and about 65 passengers) were released and the plane was blown up using explosives.[48]
June 14, 1985: TWA Flight 847, a 727-200 (registration N64339) operated a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles was hijacked by members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad shortly after takeoff from Athens. The hijackers were seeking the release of 700 Shi'ite Muslims from Israeli custody. The passengers and crew endured a three-day intercontinental ordeal. Some passengers were threatened and some beaten. Passengers with Jewish-sounding names were moved apart from the others. United States Navy diver Robert Stethem was killed, and his body was thrown onto the tarmac. Dozens of passengers were held hostage over the next two weeks until released by their captors after some of their demands were met.
March 31, 1986: Mexicana Flight 940, a 727-200 (registration XA-MEM) crashed near Maravatío in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Shortly after takeoff and climbing to 29,000 feet (8,800 m), an overheated tire exploded in the right main wheel well, tearing through fuel lines and damaging the hydraulic and electrical systems. The resulting fire eventually rendered the aircraft uncontrollable. All 167 people (eight crew and 159 passengers) on board were killed.[49]
February 27, 1988: a Talia Airways Flight 2H79 727-2H9 registration TC-AKD had been cleared for a VOR approach, but cancelled IFR and descended to 2000 feet, disregarding the altitude of the mountain chain ahead (3130 feet). Noticing mountains ahead the pilot tried to turn left and climb, but struck the Girne Arap mountain in Cyprus. All nine passengers and six crew members were killed.[51]
March 17, 1988: Avianca Flight 410, a domestic flight, crashed into low mountains near Cúcuta – Norte de Santander, Colombia, after take-off; all 143 on board died. It was determined that pilot error was also the cause of this crash, in a situation similar to that of Avianca Flight 011, five years earlier.[52]
August 31, 1988: Delta Air Lines Flight 1141, a 727-232 (N473DA) crashed on takeoff from Dallas–Fort Worth; 14 of the 108 passengers and crew on board died, 76 others were injured. Investigators found that the plane had taken off without the wing flaps and slats properly configured.[54]
October 14, 1989: Delta Air Lines Flight 1554, a 727-232, preparing for a flight to Edmonton International Airport caught fire while at the gate at Salt Lake City International Airport due to a faulty oxygen generator control unit. Smoke filled the cabin, but all 22 passengers and crew evacuated with just five minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.[56]
October 21, 1989: Tan-Sahsa Flight 414 a 727-200 (N88705) operated as TAN, crashed in the Cerro de Hula mountains after an unsuccessful approach method, killing 131 of 138 passengers and crew.[57]
November 27, 1989: Avianca Flight 203 crashed after a bomb exploded on board. All six crew and 101 passengers died.[58][59]
1990s
January 4, 1990: Northwest Airlines Flight 5 lost an engine over Madison, Florida; the aircraft landed safely at Tampa with no casualties to the 145 on board.
December 3, 1990: Northwest Airlines Flight 299 collided on the runway with Northwest Airlines Flight 1482, a DC-9, at Wayne County Airport after the DC-9 mistakenly taxied onto an active runway; eight of 44 on board Flight 1482 died while all 154 on board Flight 299 survived.
November 10, 1991: An Aeronica 727-25 registration YN-BXW was damaged beyond economic repair at Managua Airport in Nicaragua, due to the ignition of leaking high-pressure oxygen during replenishment of oxygen supplies. There were no fatalities.
February 11, 1992: A Tunisair 727-2H3 registration TS-JHV was damaged beyond economic repair. The engines were started for an engine-run at Tunis-Carthage Airport in Tunisia. When engine power reached 80%, the aircraft ran over its blocks and ran into a hangar. There were no fatalities.[61]
April 27, 1994: A Transafrik 727-100F registration S9-TAN from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola and touched down 2 metres (6.6 ft) short of the runway at the Mbanza Airport in M'banza-Kongo, Angola. The undercarriage struck a drainage ditch and collapsed. The aircraft continued onto the runway, veered right off the side of the runway and crossed a road, striking a bus with its right wing. All seven occupants on the bus were killed and all three crew members on the aircraft survived.[64]
January 31, 1995: An Angola Air Charter 727-100F registration D2-TJB touched down 500m beyond the runway threshold at Huambo Airport in Huambo, Angola. Due to heavy rainfall the aircraft aquaplaned off the runway 11/29 and became stuck in the mud; the landing gear was torn off. All three crew members survived.[65]
November 7, 1996: ADC Airlines Flight 86, a 727-200, crashed near Ejirin, Nigeria when the pilots lost control after taking evasive action to avoid a midair collision. 144 people died in the crash.[66]
August 12, 1997: Olympic Airways 727-230 registration SX-CBI, operated domestic flight 171 from Athens to Thessaloniki, in Greece. Due to pressure from a thunderstorm at the destination and bad crew communication, the aircraft touched down past the first third of the runway, could not stop in the remaining runway, and was steered to the right when an overrun into the sea was imminent. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, but there were no fatalities.[67]
March 19, 1998: An Ariana Afghan Airlines 727-200 struck Sharki Baratayi mountain in poor weather while descending for Kabul, killing all 45 on board.[69]
April 20, 1998 Air France Flight 422 crashed into terrain due to pilot error after taking off from Bogota, Colombia. All 53 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.
October 10, 1998: A Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises 727-100 (9Q-CSG) was shot down by rebels with a SA-7 (Strela 2) missile and crashed near Kindu Airport while attempting to return following the attack, killing all 41 on board.[70]
31 January 1999: An Air Algérie 727-200 registration 7T-VEH ran off the runway and struck a mound of snow on landing at Constantine-Ain el Bey Airport in Algeria. Nose-gear collapsed. A total of 92 passengers and seven crew members survived, but the aircraft was written off.[71]
July 7, 1999: a Hinduja Cargo Services 727-243F (registration VT-LCI), operating as Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8533, crashed into terrain six nautical miles from Kathmandu, Nepal. All five crew including 2 mechanics died in the accident. The accident occurred due to pilot error combined with ATC error.[72][73]
2000s
January 28, 2002: TAME Flight 120, a 727-100 from Mariscal Sucre Airport in Quito, Ecuador, stalled and crashed into the side of Cumbal Volcano, 27 km (16.9 mi) north-west of Ipiales, Colombia. All 87 passengers and 7 crew on board were killed.[74]
March 18, 2002: A Varig 727-100 freighter, registration PP-VLV, operating Flight 9051 from Salvador, ran off the side of the runway when landing at Tancredo Neves International Airport near Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Damage was sustained to the left main landing gear, nose landing gear, forward fuselage belly, left engine, and left wing and flaps. All three crew members on board survived.[75]
December 25, 2003: Union des Transports Africains de Guinée Flight 141, a 727-223 on a charter flight, overran the runway at Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport into the sea. Of the 163 passengers on the manifest, 151 died; however, the manifest is believed to have understated the number of passengers on board. A French BEA investigation attributed the cause of the crash to overloading of passengers and cargo leading to out-of-limits center of gravity.[79]
October 31, 2005: An MIBA Aviation 727-22F registration 9Q-CPJ, operating a cargo flight transported seven tons of materials on behalf of Conader (Commission Nationale de Démobilisation et Réinsertion). The aircraft skidded off the wet runway on landing at Kindu Airport in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending up in marshy terrain. All seven occupants survived.[80]
November 18, 2006: An Aerosucre 727-23F registration HK-3667X, operating a cargo flight from Bogotá to Leticia (both in Colombia), was cleared for a visual approach to runway 21 at Leticia (LET). On finals the cargo plane entered a fog bank plane. It hit a 150-feet high antenna and crashed near the village of San Sebastián de los Lagos. All six crew members and passengers were killed.[81]
February 1, 2008: Boeing 727 CP-2429 of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano landed 4.2 km short of the runway due to fuel exhaustion; no fatalities; aircraft damaged beyond repair.[83]
2010s
January 9, 2011: Iran Air Flight 277, a 727-286 Advanced, crashed shortly before landing, at Urmia, Iran. Of the 104 passengers and crew on board, 77 were killed.[84][85]
October 18, 2011: Iran Air Flight 742 landed at Mehrabad with the nosegear retracted after it failed to come down; all 113 on board survived.
June 2, 2012: Allied Air Flight 111, a 727-221F (registration 5N-BJN), overshot the runway while landing in a heavy thunderstorm at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana after flying from Lagos, Nigeria. The aircraft continued through the airport boundary fence and across a main road, hitting a minivan. 10 people in the minivan died along with a cyclist. The four crew members suffered minor injuries.[87][88]
December 20, 2016: Aerosucre Flight 157 crashed soon after taking off from Germán Olano Airport, in Puerto Carreño, Colombia. The aircraft overran the runway, broke through the airport perimeter fences, and barely became airborne. It lost height again about three minutes later, impacted the ground about 10 miles from the airport, disintegrated, and burst into flames. Colombia's Aerocivil reported that five of the six crew members died.[89]
2020s
March 31, 2024: A Safe Air Company Boeing 727-2Q9 (registration 5Y-IRE), crashed and broke up on impact while landing at Malakal Airport, South Sudan. The aircraft collided with an MD-82 that had been parked at the airport after suffering an accident in February of that same year.[90]
^"Aircraft Accident Report"(PDF). US Department of Commerce. September 7, 1983. Retrieved 4 January 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Transbrasil 303". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 313–317. ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "VASP 168". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 318–326. ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
