McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 N454AA

Summary

On 2 September 2003 at about 15:39 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 registered N454AA, operated by American Airlines Inc, was involved in an accident near Jamaica, New York, United States. 138 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.

Date

2 September 2003 at 15:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Jamaica, New York, United States

Nearest airport

John F. Kennedy International (JFK)

Coordinates

40.6356, -73.7739

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82

Registration

N454AA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

American Airlines Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dallas-Fort Wor → Newark

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC03FA186

Nobody was injured.

A fractured nose gear spray deflector due to contact with a tow bar during pushback, which subsequently jammed and prevented nose gear extension during landing. A factor in this accident was the tow operator's failure to detect the damaged spray deflector.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was on final approach when the flightcrew attempted to lower the landing gear; however, the nose gear indicator red light remained illuminated and the nose landing gear indicator pin did not extend. The flightcrew performed a low approach and ground personnel stated that the nose gear doors were partially open. The flightcrew subsequently performed an emergency landing, with the nose landing gear retracted. After the airplane came to a stop, the passengers deplaned via the aft door exit. Examination of the airplane revealed that the nose landing gear spray deflector was fractured near the middle, and found in two sections. The right section of the spray deflector had rotated about 180 degrees, and was found wedged between the nose landing gear and the right side of the wheel-well structure. The nose landing gear tire was above the wedged spray deflector section. The left section of the spray deflector was found in it's original position, which was forward, with the nose landing gear retracted. There was evidence of yellow paint transfer on the right upper surface (aft corner) of the spray deflector. Similar paint marks were observed on the left bottom surface (forward corner) of the spray deflector section. In addition, yellow paints chips were found embedded under a screw head at that location. The distance between the two yellow paint marks was approximately 29 inches. The tow operator who participated in the pushback of the airplane prior to takeoff stated that the tow bar became disconnected while the airplane was being towed; however, he did not observe any damage to the airplane. The tow bar was painted yellow and the distance between the tow bar forks was approximately 30 inches.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.