United Airlines Flight 826
 The aircraft involved in the accident, N4723U, at London Heathrow Airport in 1992 | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 28, 1997 |
| Summary | Clear-air turbulence |
| Site | Pacific Ocean |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-122 |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| Registration | N4723U[1] |
| Flight origin | Narita International Airport |
| Destination | Honolulu International Airport |
| Passengers | 374 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 1 (from injuries) |
| Injuries | 18 |
| Survivors | 392 |
On December 28, 1997, United Airlines Flight 826 was a Boeing 747-100 flying from Narita International Airport, Japan to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii. Two hours into the flight, at 9400 meters (31,000 ft), the plane received reports of severe clear-air turbulence in the area and the seat belt sign was turned on. Moments later, the aircraft suddenly dropped around 30 meters (100 ft),[2][3] seriously injuring 15 passengers and 3 crew members, although there was no damage to the aircraft. The plane turned around and landed safely back in Tokyo, but it was not put back in service since it had been scheduled to be retired in early 1998. One passenger died of her injuries after landing in Tokyo.[4]
United used the Flight 826 designation on its Guam to Tokyo-Narita using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft (no United Airlines flight uses this flight number as of March 2013). Currently, the flight route designation for United's flight from Narita to Honolulu is now Flight 880 using a Boeing 777-200
Footnotes
- ^ "FAA Registry (N4723U)". Federal Aviation Administration.
- ^ NTSB Press Release
- ^ NTSB Accident Report (Factual)
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-122 N4723U Tokyo." Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on July 4, 2009.
External links
- Accident description for 1997 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- CNN - NTSB examines data recorder from turbulent United flight