McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N979AS

Summary

On 27 December 2005 at about 00:35 local time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 registered N979AS was involved in an accident near Seattle, Washington, United States. 142 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

27 December 2005 at 00:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Seattle, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Seattle-Tacoma Intern Arpt (SEA)

Coordinates

47.4489, -122.3094

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas MD-83

Registration

N979AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Seattle → Burbank

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA06LA033

Nobody was injured.

The ground personnel baggage handler failed to maintain clearance from the aircraft with cargo handling equipment during ground operations and inadvertently damaged the airplane's pressure bulkhead which subsequently decompressed during climb to cruise.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The captain said that the airplane arrived late into Seattle, from its previous flight, and the new flight crew was waiting at the gate. After the airplane was chocked and the engines were shut down, the first officer immediately performed his preflight inspection. A ground baggage handler, who was driving a tug towing a train of baggage carts, said that he approached the airplane from aft to forward, but had to maneuver around another train of carts to get close to the belt loader. After loading the carts with baggage, he attempted to drive away. He stated, "I was hoping to make it out, but I felt my tug going against something. I immediately set my foot on the brakes and glanced at the body [in moderate rain] of the aircraft to see if there was any damage. It was a quick glance and I did not see any damage." He did not report the incident to anyone. The pilot said that the takeoff was normal. During the climb out, at approximately 26,000 feet, they heard a loud bang, and the cabin depressurized. He said that they put their oxygen masks on, and coordinated a descent to a lower altitude with Seattle Center. An uneventful landing was performed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington. Post landing examination of the fuselage revealed a 12 by 6 inch hole between the middle and forward cargo doors on the right side of the airplane. After the occurrence, the ground baggage handler confessed that he had "grazed the airplane" with a tug, while attempting to depart the vicinity of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.