- Date
- April 3, 1989, 01:17 local (08:17 UTC)
- Place
- Los Angeles, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 1 minor, 219 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N645USBoeing 767-201
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890403005989A
- Case key
- 26365
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 first officer did not properly evacuate the airplane.
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
Due to the suspicious behavior of a passenger that elected to deplane before the flight departed and was later questioned by authorities, the captain elected to return and land. During an emergency evacuation, the first officer opted to evacuate the airplane via the emergnecy rope located in the cockpit. The first officer did not fully extend the rope from the stowed positon. When his weight was put on the rope it unravelled rapidly. The first officer was unable to hang on and dropped to the ground sustaining serious injury. One other passenger broke her ankle during the evacuation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N645US
- Reported as
- Boeing 767-201
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23897
- Airframe hours
- 7,071
- Engine
- GE CF6-80C2, 45,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Piedmont Airlines
- Registered owner
- Meridan Trust Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 19, 1989 · 149 hours before
- Departed
- LAX · Los Angeles, CA
- Destination
- BWI · Baltimore, MD
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LAX · Los Angeles
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 17,500 total · 100 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 260° at 7 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.