Boeing 737-7H4 N221WN

Summary

On 13 February 2010 at about 22:45 local time, a Boeing 737-7H4 registered N221WN, operated by Southwest Airlines Co, was involved in an accident near Santa Clarita, California, United States. 85 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 February 2010 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Clarita, California, United States

Nearest airport

Bob Hope (BUR)

Coordinates

34.4639, -118.5136

Aircraft

Boeing 737-7H4

Registration

N221WN

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Southwest Airlines Co

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Burbank

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA134

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s abrupt airplane pitch change maneuver. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew’s failure to maintain the heading specified by the air traffic controller, which would have avoided the near collision course with an unidentified airplane that triggered the traffic alert and collision avoidance system resolution advisory.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During descent to landing, the flight crew inadvertently turned about 27 degrees off their air traffic controller-assigned heading. When advised by the controller to check the airplane’s heading, the flight crew noted the heading discrepancy and immediately initiated a turn back to the assigned heading. During the turn, the flight crew received a traffic alert and collision avoidance system resolution advisory (RA). The captain responded to the RA by initiating an estimated 1,500- to 2,000-foot-per-minute rate of descent followed by an approximate 2,000-foot-per-minute climb. During the RA response maneuvers, three flight attendants were standing in the aft galley, one of whom was seriously injured.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.