Boeing 757-251 N550NW

Summary

On 31 May 2004 at about 22:13 local time, a Boeing 757-251 registered N550NW was involved in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. 188 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 May 2004 at 22:13

Classification

Incident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Anchorage International (PANC)

Coordinates

61.1744, -149.9964

Aircraft

Boeing 757-251

Registration

N550NW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minneapolis → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC04IA058

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of the flight attendant to follow the appropriate door opening procedure by remaining clear of the door handle when the passenger door was opened from the outside by customer service personnel, which resulted in a wrist injury to the flight attendant when she was struck by the door handle.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a Boeing 757-251 airplane arrived at a terminal gate and was parked, a flight attendant went to door 2L of the aircraft. The customer service agent (CSA) positioned outside the airplane on the jetway knocked on the door. This is the signal to the flight attendant that the door will be opened, if the flight attendant provides a visible "thumbs-up" signal to the agent on the jetway. The flight attendant reported that in response to the knock, she gave a thumbs-up, and stepped away from the door. The door did not open, but she heard a second knock. The flight attendant gave a second thumbs-up through the cabin door window. As she was giving the signal, the door handle came down on her wrist. The CSA reported that after his first knock, he did not receive a thumbs-up, and knocked a second time. The flight attendant inside the airplane then gave a thumbs-up signal. The CSA then opened the airplane door from the outside. During the door opening procedure, the inside handle of the door struck the flight attendant on the forearm. The flight attendant was taken to a local hospital where she was initially diagnosed with a fractured wrist. On June 23, 2004, the operator informed the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge that the injured flight attendant had a follow-up examination with her own physician in Minnesota. The physician took additional x-rays of the injured wrist and determined that it was not broken, but had sustained a sprain. The flight attendant continued to have pain, and had a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of her wrist on July 2, 2004, which was normal. Airline personnel provided a copy of their cabin operating standards, which states, in part: "To prepare cabin door for opening; 1. CSA knocks on door and awaits "thumbs-up" signal from FA. 2. FA gives thumbs-up signal to CSA to indicate that door is disarmed and safe to open. 3. CSA opens cabin door after FA moves hands clear of door." Additional information provided by the airline indicated that the door opening procedure precludes a second thumbs-up signal unless the CSA knocks a second time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.