[2] The cause was deemed to be improper training, which resulted in the crew failing to understand a three-engine takeoff procedure.

[2]: 25–29 [5] The first officer was 38-year-old Mark Ulmer, who was on probation from ATI and was undergoing training for the DC-8, but had not received his type rating for that aircraft at the time of the accident.

[2]: 30–31 On the day of the accident, N782AL landed at Kansas City Airport after a scheduled cargo flight from Denver, Colorado.

The flight was intended to be operated by another crew, but they were unable to start the number one (outer left) engine.

The number 4 (outer right) engine initially failed to start as its ignition circuit breaker was accidentally left open.

Miga told the crew he had trouble with maintaining the aircraft's directional control during takeoff, saying, "it [the power on the number 4 engine] just came up too fast is what it did."

The NTSB noted several events during captain Miga's training at American International Airways and ATI.

[2]: 28 First officer Ulmer had failed three flight checks in 1989, 1992, and 1993, and received three notices of disapproval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

[2]: 64 The NTSB determined that the accident was caused by the flight crew violating standard operating procedures by inappropriately deciding to continue takeoff when the aircraft was below the calculated rotation airspeed.

The airline had also provided inadequate rest, resulting in the flight crew being fatigued at the time of the accident, though the NTSB could not conclude if it had degraded their performance.

[2] The crash was featured in season 24, episode 3 of the Canadian documentary series Mayday entitled "Deadly Departure".

[8] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transportation Safety Board.