Boeing 737 N632SW

Summary

On 1 April 2011 at about 22:57 local time, a Boeing 737 registered N632SW, operated by Southwest Airlines Co, was involved in an accident near Yuma, Arizona, United States. 122 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 April 2011 at 22:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Yuma, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Yuma International Airport (NYL)

Coordinates

32.6567, -114.6058

Aircraft

Boeing 737

Registration

N632SW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Southwest Airlines Co

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Sacramento

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA11MA039

2 people had minor injuries.

the improper installation of the fuselage crown skin panel at the S-4L lap joint during the manufacturing process, which resulted in multiple site damage fatigue cracking and eventual failure of the lower skin panel. Contributing to the injuries was flight attendant A's incorrect assessment of his time of useful consciousness, which led to his failure to follow procedures requiring immediate donning of an oxygen mask when cabin pressure is lost.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_aviation.html. The Aircraft Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-13/02. On April 1, 2011, about 1558 mountain standard time (MST), a Boeing 737-3H4, N632SW, operating as Southwest Airlines flight 812 experienced a rapid decompression while climbing through flight level 340. The flight crew conducted an emergency descent and diverted to Yuma International Airport (NYL), Yuma, Arizona. Of the 5 crewmembers and 117 passengers on board, one crewmember and one nonrevenue off-duty airline employee passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage; postaccident inspection revealed that a section of fuselage skin about 60 inches long by 8 inches wide had fractured and flapped open on the upper left side above the wing. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 as a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento, California.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.