Boeing 727-232 N521DA
27 November 1999 · Flushing, New York, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 November 1999 at about 15:30 local time, a Boeing 727-232 registered N521DA was involved in an accident near Flushing, New York, United States. 73 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Flushing, New York, United States
- Nearest airport
- La Guardia Airport (LGA)
- Coordinates
- 40.7691, -73.8693
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-232
- Registration
- N521DA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Washington
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- NYC00LA040
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 |
Probable cause
was the use of a defective tow bar, due to the lack of an adequate inspection by contract personnel, the airlines lack of an adequate preventative maintenance program for the tow bars, and the lack of oversight by the airline on the contract personnel who inspected the tow bar. A factor was the softer than specified shear pins used in the tow bar.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The B727 was dispatched with the APU inoperative. The captain elected to start all engines prior to pushback due to a short taxi. After pushback, and during a forward tow, a shear pin on the tow bar failed, and the airplane rolled into a tug. Examination of the tow bar revealed looseness in the head, and worn holes for the shear pins. Metallurgical examination of the shear pins found pre-existing cracking and the pins were softer than specified. The pushback operation was conducted by contract personnel. The failed tow bar had been inspected daily by contract personnel with no problems noted and it continued in use. A fleet wide campaign found 63 percent of the tow bars in need of maintenance. The investigation revealed the airline did not have a preventative maintenance program for their tow bars, or a program to train the contract personnel in inspections of the tow bars, and to monitor their inspections.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 727 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Mar 1999 | Boeing 727-200 | Calgary, Canada | Delta Airlines | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jan 1999 | Boeing 727-200 | New York, New York, United States | American Trans Air | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 1999 | Boeing 727-200 | Washington, District of Columbia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 7 Jul 1999 | Boeing 727-243F | Kathmandu, Nepal | Lufthansa Cargo Airlines/Hinduja | Fatal | 5 |
| 5 Jan 1999 | Boeing 727-225A | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 May 1999 | Boeing 727 | Sterling, Virginia, United States | Sun Country Airlines | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May 1999 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) 340B | Jamaica, New York, United States | American Eagle Airlines, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 16 Oct 1999 | Cessna 182S | Staatsburg, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Mar 1999 | Mooney M20C | Irving, New York, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 May 1999 | Stock S-1S | Westtown, New York, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 8 May 1999 | Cessna 172K | Shirley, New York, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Oct 1999 | Eurocopter AS-350-BA | Westbury, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |