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LAX88IA295

1988-08-20 · HONOLULU, Hawaii, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HNL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE AIRCRAFTS ENCOUNTER WITH THE ENGINE EXHAUST FLOW AND RELATED TURBULENCE FROM A HEAVY BOEING 747, WHICH CROSSED THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY ABOUT 1 MINUTE AND TEN SECONDS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT.

Factual narrative

THE HAWAIIAN DC9 WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RWY 8L. ALL PASSENGER AIRCRAFT DEPARTING RWY 8R FROM THE PASSENGER TERMINAL MUST CROSS THE APPROACH END OF RWY 8L. A HEAVY BOEING 747 CROSSED THE APPROACH END OF RWY 8L ENROUTE TO 8R ABOUT 1 MINUTE AND 10 SECONDS PRIOR TO THE TOUCHDOWN OF THE DC9. THE DC9 CREW SAID THE APPROACH WAS STABILIZED AT VREF PLUS 10 WITH A 600 FPM DESCENT RATE. AT 50 FEET AGL OVER THE APPROACH END OF THE RWY. THE AIRSPEED SUDDENLY DECREASED TO VREF AND A HIGH SINK RATE DEVELOPED. THE PILOT FLYING WAS ABLE TO ARREST THE DESCENT RATE WITH POWER AND A PITCH ATTITUDE INCREASE. THE PITCH ATTITUDE WAS BEYOND THE 10.4 DEGREE PITCH ATTITUDE REQUIRED TO STRIKE THE TAIL SKID. THE TAIL SKID BROKE OFF AND DAMAGED SOME INTERNAL MEMBERS IN THE TAIL AREA. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_LAX88IA295.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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