Boeing 737-300 N529AU
27 July 2006 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 27 July 2006 at about 13:45 local time, a Boeing 737-300 registered N529AU, operated by US Airways Inc, was involved in an accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. 78 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. 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 13:45
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Nearest airport
- Pittsburgh International (PIT)
- Coordinates
- 40.4881, -80.2264
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300
- Registration
- N529AU
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- US Airways Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Pittsburgh → West Palm Beach
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- NYC06FA184
People
3 people had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 75 |
Probable cause
The airplane tug driver's inadvertent movement of the tug gear shift lever from forward to reverse, which resulted in the nose landing gear collapse. Contributing to the accident was the defective gear shift lever.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
During pushback, the airplane was seen to "bounce" up and down both at the nose and the tail, before the nose gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed a broken lower drag brace that was buckled in compression, and fractured due to overstress. The tug was examined and the gear shift lever was found to be defective. It would not lock in the neutral gate, and could be moved easily through the gate between the forward and reverse gears. In addition, the tug experienced "hesitation and hard jerks" when shifting from forward to reverse. Skid marks at the scene were the same width as the tug's wheelbase, and were consistent with sudden engagement of the transmission.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 737 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul 2006 | Boeing 737-300 | Stansted, United Kingdom | Jet2 | No injuries | - |
| 19 Oct 2006 | Boeing 737-790 | Los Angeles, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 16 Dec 2006 | Boeing 737-824 | Colorado Spring, Colorado, United States | Continental Airlines, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Jul 2006 | Boeing 737-322 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | United Air Lines Inc | No injuries | - |
| 31 Aug 2006 | Boeing 737-400 | Miami, Florida, United States | US Airways | No injuries | - |
| 12 Jun 2006 | Boeing 737-2M2 | Accra, Ghana | TAAG Linhas Aereas De Angola | No injuries | - |
All 1,317 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 2006 | Cessna 172L | Montgomery Twp, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 10 Jul 2006 | Carlson SPARROW | New Galilee, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Oct 2006 | Cessna 152 | Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States | Aero Tech Services | No injuries | - |
| 9 Oct 2006 | Mooney M20F | Brownsville, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 26 Dec 2006 | Cessna 414 | Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States | Flight Source LLC | Fatal | 2 |
| 6 May 2006 | Cessna 152 | Shamokin, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |