Boeing 737-524 N24633

Summary

On 20 June 2005 at about 03:20 local time, a Boeing 737-524 registered N24633, operated by Continental Airlines, Inc., was involved in an incident near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. 104 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

20 June 2005 at 03:20

Classification

Incident

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Salt Lake City International (SLC)

Coordinates

40.7892, -111.9599

Aircraft

Boeing 737-524

Registration

N24633

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Continental Airlines, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newark → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DEN05IA098

Nobody was injured.

the left wing walker's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout. Contributing factors were his inadequate initial training, and the failure of other ground personnel to follow company procedures/directives.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The jetway had previously been positioned for an MD-80, which required a lower entry level than the Boeing 737. The incident captain stated that he did not use landing or taxi lights as he approached the gate. The airplane stopped and he thought the brake may have grabbed for some reason. He applied a "little power for a moment." When the plane did not move, he shut down the engines. Post incident inspection revealed the left engine inlet had contacted the jetway. There was a 3-inch scratch at the 12 o'clock position. The left wing walker, who took responsibility for the incident, said he did not feel the jet bridge posed a threat to the airplane because "they are supposed to taxi up to the jet bridge...I did not notice the plane would hit the bridge until it was too late. He had been on the job for 6 days. The right wing walker was unaware of the incident. The operations supervisor said she thought the jet bridge was a little close to the J-line but when the plane turned in, she thought there would be enough clearance. When the airplane was about 8 feet from the final stop bar, it lurched as if the brakes had been applied rapidly. She said she had received no signals from the wing walkers. The gate agent (and jetway operator), who had been dealing with a customer issue, did not go out onto the jetway until the airplane was approaching the J-line. Realizing a collision was imminent, he attempted to contact the ramp via radio but was too late.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.