Los Angeles International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Los Angeles, California 90009
Saturday, May 25, 1996 15:13 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was cleared to land on runway 25L at LAX with the first officer flying the approach manually. The crew of a commuter aircraft holding for departure witnessed the landing and the tail strike upon touchdown. According to information from the flight data recorder, the airspeed fell below Vref with a corresponding increase in the rate of descent. The attitude of the aircraft was 12 degrees nose high when the tail contacted the runway coincident with the main gear touchdown. The crew did not to use the appropriate checklist, nor arm the spoilers for the approach and landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the crew's failure to maintain the proper approach airspeed and rate of descent. Contributing to the accident was the crew's failure to follow the checklist and inadequate supervision by the pilot-in-command.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/25/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1513
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LOS ANGELES
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90009
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LAX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 126
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1452 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LAX
Elevation of weather observation facility 126
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 687
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 25 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:00AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number HL737
NTSB Number LAX96FA206
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 129: Foreign
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model MD-11
Aircraft Series Identifier MD-11
Aircraft Serial Number 48409
Certified Max Gross Weight 618000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class Foreign Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 3
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 20 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 15896
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KOREAN AIRLINES CO, LTD.
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City SEOUL
Aircraft Owner State OF
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight International
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ANC
Departure City ANCHORAGE
Departure State AK
Departure Country
Departure Time 945
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LAX
Destination City
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25L
Runway Length 11098
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --