- Date
- April 17, 1986, 17:07 local (22:07 UTC)
- Place
- Detroit, MI
- Injuries
- 102 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N64324Boeing 727-231
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860417025169I
- Case key
- 13358
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
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.
Analysis
While taxiing for takeoff a male pax panicked and shouted 'open the door!' During a smoke-in-the-cabin occurrence (overheated a/c pack). The lead fa mistook this 'instruction' as coming from the cockpit and opened an exit door. Passengers interpreted her action as clearance to open another door and began to evacuate. 21 pax evacuated before the captain intervened. Two flt attendants were on strike at the time and the flts were being staffed by supervisors and new hires. The lead fa on this flt was a supervisor with no recent day-to-day cabin supervision experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64324
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-231
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20099
- Engine
- P&W JT-8D, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Aviation Sales Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DTW · Detorit Metro/Wayne Cnty
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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,700 total · 135 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DTW, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.