On February 19, 1985, the Boeing 747SP operating the flight was involved in an aircraft upset accident, following the failure of the No.

The Boeing 747SP-09 was 350 miles (560 km) northwest of San Francisco, cruising at an altitude of 41,000 ft (12,500 m).

[1]: 2 Meanwhile, as the airspeed decreased, the autopilot rolled the control wheel to the maximum left limit of 23 degrees while maintaining level flight.

By the time the captain disconnected the autopilot the aircraft had rolled over 60 degrees to the right and the nose had begun to drop.

[1]: 3  Without any visual reference because of cloud cover and having rejected the information from the attitude indicators, the captain and first officer became spatially disoriented.

The crew reported "condition normal now" to air traffic control, along with the intention of continuing on to Los Angeles.

With the drag added by the deployed landing gear the aircraft had insufficient fuel to reach Los Angeles.

[1]: 5 There were two serious injuries on board: a fracture and laceration of a foot, and an acute back strain requiring two days of hospitalization.

The entire left outboard elevator had been lost along with its actuator, which had been powered by the hydraulic system that ruptured and drained.

Beginning in February 2004, the aircraft was used to deliver disaster aid to countries such as Ethiopia, India, Iran, and Jordan; however, by July 2005 the FAA had revoked Global Peace Ambassadors' operating certificate due to poor maintenance of the aircraft, effectively grounding it at Thunder Bay International Airport in Ontario, Canada.

In December 2005, a ferry permit was issued and N4522V was flown to Tijuana International Airport, where the aircraft remained parked as of 2024[update] with the possibility of it being scrapped.

[4] In its final report, the US NTSB stated "The Safety Board can only conclude that the captain was distracted first by the evaluation of the engine malfunction and second by his attempts to arrest the decreasing airspeed, and that, because of these distractions, he was unable to assess properly and promptly the approaching loss of airplane control.