McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 N151SY
23 December 1996 · Las Vegas, Nevada, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 23 December 1996 at about 02:00 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 registered N151SY, operated by Sun Country Airlines, Inc., was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. 340 people were on board. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 02:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- Nearest airport
- McCarran International (LAS)
- Coordinates
- 36.0809, -115.1402
- Aircraft
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15
- Registration
- N151SY
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- Sun Country Airlines, Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Detroit
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- LAX97LA073
People
Injuries not recorded.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 340 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 339 |
Probable cause
the ramp agent's failure to maintain a good situational awareness of the push-back. A factor was the dark night lighting conditions and the general communication failure of the ground push-back crew.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The ramp agent was functioning as the 'talker' during the push back operation and his headset was plugged into the aircraft at the nose wheel well. The agent realized he had forgotten his lighted hand wands and moved to the wheel well to unplug his headset from the aircraft just as the tug driver started pushing the aircraft back from the gate. The injured agent's foot and ankle were run over and crushed by one of the nose wheel tires.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other McDonnell Douglas DC-10 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 1996 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10CF | Newburgh, New York, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 May 1997 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | San Juan | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 25 Jul 1997 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | Atlantic Ocean | Laker Airways, Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1995 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 | Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Apr 1994 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 21 May 1998 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Continental Airlines | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1996 | Cessna 152 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Aerleon Flight School | No injuries | - |
| 6 Oct 1996 | Piper PA-28-180 | Ely, Nevada, United States | Michael E. Scholl | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Mar 1996 | Burkhart Grob G102 | Minden, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Mar 1996 | Beechcraft E33A | Mesquite, Nevada, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Oct 1996 | Bellanca 17-30A | Jackpot, Nevada, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Apr 1996 | Let BLANIK L-13 | Jean, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |