On July 31, 1997, the aircraft flying this route crashed during landing on its final segment at Newark International Airport, inverting and catching fire, injuring all five people on board.

The flight originated in Singapore with intermediate stops in Penang, Malaysia, followed by Taipei, Taiwan, and then Anchorage, Alaska.

During the flight, the pilots were concerned that they would have little stopping distance after landing, and the captain said that he wanted to put the aircraft down early on the runway.

[2] The captain was 46-year-old Robert M. Freeman who joined FedEx in 1988 when it bought Flying Tiger Line, which he had previously worked for since 1978.

[2]: 11–12 [6][7][8] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a full investigation of the accident and concluded that the probable cause was the captain's over-control of the aircraft during the landing and his failure to go around after a destabilized flare.

However, the FedEx pilot union criticized the decision and announced that they would appeal it, citing that the crash was caused by aircraft design flaws.