Boeing 747-122 N4718U
12 February 1987 · Detroit, Michigan, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 12 February 1987 at about 04:17 local time, a Boeing 747-122 registered N4718U, operated by United Airlines, was involved in an accident near Detroit, Michigan, United States. 241 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured, 16 had minor injuries. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 04:17
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Nearest airport
- Detroit Metro Wayne Co (DTW)
- Coordinates
- 42.2203, -83.3508
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-122
- Registration
- N4718U
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 4
- Operator
- United Airlines
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Chicago → Newark
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- CHI87FA081
People
3 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 241 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 222 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DRG FLT, UNITED FLT 108 RECD INFO OF A BOMB THREAT. DUE TO A SHORT TIME LIMIT, SPECIFIED IN THE THREAT, THE FLT DIVERTEDTO DETROIT & THE SLIDES WERE USED TO EVACUATE THE ACFT; 8 OF 10 SLIDES DEPLOYED NMLY & WERE USED. THE SLIDE AT DOOR 4R DIDN'T INFLATE & WASN'T USED. THE FLT ATTENDANT (F/A) AT DOOR 5R PERCEIVED THAT THE SLIDE (SLIDE/RAFT) AT THAT LCTN WAS INFLATING SLOWLY. SHE PULLED WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS THE MANUAL INFLATION HANDLE (MIH) & HEARD A HISSING SOUND. SHE THEN SENT 2 HELPERS (PAX) DWN THE SLIDE. AS THEY EGRESSED, THE SLIDE SEPD FM THE ACFT & FELL TO THE GND; 1 OF THE 2 RECD A SERIOUS BACK INJURY. AS OTR SLIDES WERE USED, 2 OTR PAX RECD SERIOUS LEG INJURIES & 16 PAX RECD MINOR INJURIES. AN INV REVEALED THE F/A AT DOOR 5R INADVERTENTLY PULLED THE RELEASE HANDLE (RH) WHEN SHE ATMTD TO USE THE MIH. BOTH HANDLES WERE MADE OF CANVAS MTRL & WERE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE. THE MIH WAS RED WITH A PIECE OF WHITE MTRL MARKED 'PULL' IN RED LTRS; THE RH WAS WHITE & WAS ALSO MARKED 'PULL' IN RED LTRS. NO REASON WAS FND FOR THE SLIDE AT DOOR 4R NOT TO ENFLATE.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 747 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1987 | Boeing 747-245F | Caracas, Venezuela | Venezuelan Int'l Airways | No injuries | - |
| 9 Aug 1987 | Boeing 747 | New York, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1987 | Boeing 747-200B | Washington, District of Columbia, United States | All Nippon Airways | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Feb 1987 | Boeing 747-236B | Los Angeles, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 25 Jul 1987 | Boeing 747-287B | Miami, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Dec 1987 | Boeing 747-124F | Bogota, Colombia | Avianca | Unknown | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Nov 1987 | Cessna 152 | New Hudson, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Apr 1987 | Cessna 152 | Marine City, Michigan, United States | Marine City Aviation | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Nov 1987 | Piper PA-28-161 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Apr 1987 | Piper PA-32-260 | Byron Center, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Apr 1987 | Piper J3C | Midland, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 May 1987 | Cessna 150J | Detroit, Michigan, United States | Charles Spicer | No injuries | - |