- Date
- December 28, 2001, 07:27 local (11:27 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3203YBoeing 747-128
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20011228036809A
- Case key
- 53968
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The flight crew's inadequate preflight planning, and failure to calculate the airplane weight and balance prior to departure.
Analysis
The flight crew of a Boeing 747 cargo airplane made a scheduled fuel stop in Anchorage, Alaska, in preparation for the final leg of the flight to Travis AFB. The accident airplane was refueled with about 100,000 lbs. of fuel. During takeoff in Anchorage, the tail of the airplane struck the runway, and sustained substantial damage. A postaccident investigation revealed that prior to departure, the crew failed to account for the weight of the additional fuel, and inadvertently used the same performance cards that were used for the previous landing. The crew was unaware that the tail had struck the runway until after arrival at Travis AFB.
Factual narrative
On December 28, 2001, about 0727 Alaska standard time, a Boeing 747-128 airplane, N3203Y, sustained substantial damage as a result of a tail strike during takeoff from the Ted Stevens International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska. The flight was being conducted as an instrument (IFR) cross-country cargo flight under Title 14, CFR Part 121, operated by Evergreen International Airlines, Inc., as Flight 203. There were no injuries to the two pilots, or the one flight engineer aboard. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan had been filed. The flight originated about 0712, from the Ted Stevens International Airport, and was en route to Travis Air Force Base (AFB), California.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on January 31, the operator's chief pilot reported that after the accident airplane arrived in Anchorage, the airplane was refueled with about 100,000 lbs. of fuel in preparation for the final leg of the flight to Travis AFB. He said that prior to departure, the crew failed to account for the weight of the additional fuel, and inadvertently used the same performance cards that were used for the previous landing. He added that the crew was unaware that the tail had struck the runway until after arrival at Travis AFB.
The airplane's tail sustained substantial damage as a result of the tail strike. The airplane was flown to Marana, Arizona, for repairs.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3203Y
- Reported as
- Boeing 747-128
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19751
- Airframe hours
- 87,407.8
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7F, 46,750 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Evergreen International Airlines Inc
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 12, 2001 · 157.8 hours before
- Departed
- ANC · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- KSUU · Travis Afb, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- PANC · Ted Stevens Int'l Airport, runway 32, 10,696 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 3
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 25, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 3,990 in this make and model · 11,600 as pilot in command · 101 in the last 90 days · 43 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 19, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 1,947 in this make and model · 9,100 as pilot in command · 104 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Flight engineer
- Age
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Flight engineer
- Seat
- Rear
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- 360° at 3 knots
- Temperature
- 30 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.