McCarran is site for idled United jet

Cathy Scott

Monday, Jan. 5, 1998 | 10:41 a.m.

A United Airlines jumbo jet that experienced turbulence so violent it killed a passenger is being mothballed at McCarran International Airport's aviation boneyard indefinitely.

The Boeing 747, which plummeted without warning Dec. 29 en route from Narita, Japan, to Honolulu, is being retired at McCarran, Adam Mayberry, spokesman for the airport, said today. Initial reports said Flight 826 fell nearly 1,000 feet, but the National Transportation and Safety Board reported the abrupt change in altitude was more like 100 feet.

Sudden turbulence over the Pacific tossed passengers and crew headfirst into the ceiling. One woman was killed and 102 other passengers were injured.

The plane returned to Japan the same day. But two days later, it was ferried without cargo or passengers to Las Vegas because of the climate and space, Mayberry said.

"It came here on New Year's Eve," Mayberry said, noting that it's parked on the west side of the airfield in what some refer to as the "aviation boneyard."

"We expect it to be here indefinitely. We have an aircraft storage facility, and there are always a handful of aircraft out there," Mayberry said. "Some of them may be up for sale. Some of them may be stored for future use. They're being mothballed. Some have parts on the plane that are rotated to other aircraft.

"The climate is ideal here in the Southwestern United States. The dry air protects the fuselage of the airplane."

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will conduct its investigation of the accident from McCarran, Mayberry said.