Airborne Express Flight 827 crashes in Narrows, Virginia, killing all six people on board.

Airborne Express Flight 827 was a functional evaluation flight (FEF) of an ABX Air Douglas DC-8-63F that had undergone a major modification. On December 22, 1996, during the test flight, the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing all six people on board. Accident investigators determined the cause of the accident was improper crew control inputs.

Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 census, a decline of 3.9% from the 2000 count of 2,111. It is part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area.

December 22 is the 356th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; nine days remain until the end of the year.