Plane Crash List

Boeing 737-200 N129SW

4 October 1997 · Chicago, Illinois, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 4 October 1997 at about 13:10 local time, a Boeing 737-200 registered N129SW, operated by Southwest Airlines, was involved in an incident near Chicago, Illinois, United States. 50 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 13:10
Classification
Incident
Location
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nearest airport
Midway (MDW)
Coordinates
41.7808, -87.7692
Aircraft
Boeing 737-200
Registration
N129SW
Category
Airplane
Engines
2
Operating rule
Part 121: Air Carrier
Purpose of flight
Unknown
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Kansas City → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Minor
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CHI98IA007

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
50 0 0 0 50

Probable cause

an improper repair to a crack in a brake flange hole on the left main landing gear outboard axle, and subsequent fatigue failure of the axle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The left main landing gear outboard wheel/brake assembly separated from the airplane during a landing roll. The Captain did not report any difficulties in controlling the airplane. Inspection of the failed axle revealed a crack which originated at the surface of one of the brake flange holes. This crack had previously been repaired. Detailed metallurgical examination of the crack revealed properties consistent with the surface having been heated to an excessive temperature during the repair process.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Boeing 737 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
26 Dec 1997 Boeing 737-522
N918UA
Eugene, Oregon, United States - No injuries -
17 Apr 1997 Boeing 737-300
N962WP
Colorado Spgs, Colorado, United States Western Pacific No injuries -
11 May 1997 Boeing 737-524
N16618
Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Continental Airlines, Inc. No injuries -
27 Sep 1997 Boeing 737-3T0
N13331
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24 Sep 1997 Boeing 737-200RS
N205AU
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Frontier Airlines, Inc. Minor injuries -
8 May 1997 Boeing 737-300 Shenzhen, China
no coordinates
China Southern Airlines Fatal 35

All 1,317 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
3 Jul 1997 Snow S2C
N1684S
Viola, Illinois, United States - No injuries -
12 Jul 1997 Waco UPF-7
N30136
Springfield, Illinois, United States
no coordinates
- No injuries -
27 Jul 1997 Kearns RV-6
N35K
Harrisburg, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -
5 Aug 1997 Champion 7KCAB
N5066X
Hampshire, Illinois, United States - No injuries -
16 Aug 1997 Piper PA-25-235
N9781P
Hinckley, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -
20 Aug 1997 Cessna P210
N44C
Grayslake, Illinois, United States - Minor injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States