Boeing 737-700 N254WN

Summary

On 7 November 2008 at about 23:15 local time, a Boeing 737-700 registered N254WN, operated by Southwest Airlines Co, was involved in an incident near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. 51 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.

Date

7 November 2008 at 23:15

Classification

Incident

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Salt Lake City Int. (KSLC)

Coordinates

40.7883, -111.9778

Aircraft

Boeing 737-700

Registration

N254WN

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Southwest Airlines Co

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Los Angeles

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09IA033

Nobody was injured.

The tug driver's failure to maintain situational awareness during the push back operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a push back from a jetway, the airplane's winglet collided with the winglet of an unoccupied airplane parked at the adjacent gate. Prior to the push back, the wheels of the tug were not aligned straight ahead, but were instead turned partially to one side. Therefore as the push back was initiated, the nose of the airplane moved toward the jetway instead of going straight back. At that point, instead of terminating the push back and realigning the tug, the tug driver attempted to maneuver the tug in a manner that would result in the nose of the airplane clearing the jetway. During this attempt, the tug driver's attention became focused upon the jetway, and he therefore did not see or hear the visual and oral warning signals being given by the wing-walker.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.