Boeing 747SP-21 N146UA
23 December 1988 · Midway Islands, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 23 December 1988 at about 10:30 local time, a Boeing 747SP-21 registered N146UA, operated by United Airlines, was involved in an accident near Midway Islands, United States. 222 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 10:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Midway Islands, United States
- Coordinates
- 37.6358, -130.0704
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747SP-21
- Registration
- N146UA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 4
- Operator
- United Airlines
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Norita → San Francisco
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- Unk
- Light
- Dawn
- NTSB number
- LAX89LA068
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 222 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 220 |
Probable cause
AIRCRAFT'S ENCOUNTER WITH UNFORECAST SEVERVE CLEAR TURBULENCE.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
UNITED AIRLINES FLT 820 WAS ENRTE FROM NORITA, JAPAN TO SAN FRANCISCO, CA. AT FLT LVL 380 SEVERE CLEAR AIR TURBULENCE WAS ENCOUNTERED. THREE CABIN CREW MEMBERS WERE THROWN TO THE CEILING, TWO OF WHOM WERE INJURED, ONE SUSTAINING A FRACTURED LEG. THE FLT DIVERTED TO HONOLULU AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. BOTH FLT AND CABIN CREW REPORTED THAT THERE HAD BEEN NO WARNING OF ANY IMPENDING TURBULENCE PRIOR TO ABRUPTLY ENCOUNTERING THE TURBULENCE THAT CAUSED THE INJURIES, AND THAT THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS TURNED OFF.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 747 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1988 | Boeing 747-123 | Nr Tokyo, Japan | United Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 1988 | Boeing 747-200 | Jamaica, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 1988 | Boeing 747 | Schiphol-Amster, Netherlands | KLM | Unknown | - |
| 21 Dec 1988 | Boeing 747-121 | Lockerbie, United Kingdom | Pan AM | Fatal | 259 |
| 16 Dec 1988 | Boeing 747-124 | Hong Kong | Flying Tiger | No injuries | - |
| 21 Sep 1988 | Boeing 747-100 | Georgetown, Guyana | - | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 1988 | Stinson 108-2 | Avon, Ohio, United States | Robert M. Neil | Serious injuries | - |
| 1 May 1988 | Beechcraft C23 | Manassas, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Mar 1988 | Cessna 210 | Billings, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Dec 1988 | Cessna 152 II | Gilcrest, Colorado, United States | Larry J. Kuebrich | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 1988 | Grumman G-164B | Chandler, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1988 | Bellanca 8GCBC | Florence, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |