NTSB LAX90LA055 — 1989-12-21 · SANTA ANA, California, United States

N611AM has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ZENITH CH 750 CRUZER, built 2017), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N611AM Boeing 757-223 None

Probable cause & findings

THE COPILOT'S OVERROTATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE FLARE WHICH ALLOWED THE TAIL TO COLLIDE WITH THE RUNWAY. THE FAILURE OF THE CAPTAIN TO TAKE APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION WAS A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT.

Factual narrative

THE TAIL OF A BOEING 757 STRUCK THE RUNWAY DURING A VISUAL NIGHT LANDING AT THE ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT. THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDER INDICATED A PITCH ATTITUDE OF 11.074 DEGREES FOR TWO SECONDS AT TOUCHDOWN. THE BOEING COMPANY STATED THE MAXIMUM PITCH AT TOUCHDOWN SHOULD NOT EXCEED 10.3 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE CAPTAIN'S FIRST NIGHT TIME FLIGHT INTO ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT IN THIS TYPE OF AIRCRAFT. AIRCREWS CERTIFIED IN THE BOEING 767 AIRCRAFT ARE ALSO QUALIFIED IN THE BOEING 757 AIRCRAFT. AS OF FEBRUARY, 1990, THERE HAVE BEEN 27 KNOWN TAIL STRIKES IN THE 767 AND 51 TAIL STRIKES IN THE 757 AIRCRAFT DURING THE TAKEOFF AND LANDING PHASES OF FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX90LA055.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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