Boeing 747-422 N198UA

Summary

On 9 June 1999, a Boeing 747-422 registered N198UA, operated by United Airlines, was involved in an accident near Pacific Ocean. 326 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 June 1999

Classification

Accident

Location

Pacific Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Boeing 747-422

Registration

N198UA

Category

Airplane

Engines

4

Operator

United Airlines

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Singapore → Narita

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA212

1 person was seriously injured.

intentional tampering/altering of a galley lift interlock microswitch by unknown persons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While en route from Singapore to Narita, Japan, a flight attendant proceeded to transfer a serving cart from the main deck to the upper deck. As the flight attendant pushed the cart into the lift, the lift began to move. The lift continued to raise, catching the edge of the cart and lifting it off the ground, trapping the flight attendant between the other end of the cart and the galley counter opposite the lift. As the cart was raised off the floor, the flight attendant was lifted off her feet and her body was pushed on top of the galley counter. The cart continued to rise, pinning the flight attendant's face between the cart and the bins above the galley counter. An inspection of the galley lift after landing revealed a piece of cardboard had been inserted into the interlock safety switch, disabling it, and by doing so, the galley lift can be operated without closing the galley lift door. This condition is known to have been caused, in other incidents, by food service personnel to expedite loading of food service aboard the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.