Boeing 737-7BD N7734H
11 August 2023 · San Diego, California, United States · Unknown
Summary
On 11 August 2023 at about 19:06 local time, a Boeing 737-7BD registered N7734H, operated by Southwest Airlines Co, was involved in an incident near San Diego, California, United States. The number of people on board was not recorded. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 19:06
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- San Diego, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- San Diego Intl (SAN)
- Coordinates
- 32.7302, -117.1756
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-7BD
- Registration
- N7734H
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2006
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → San Jose
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- OPS23FA010
People
Injuries not recorded.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not recorded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The local control controller’s poor judgment in duty prioritization which distracted them from monitoring arriving and departing traffic and resulted in a runway incursion and loss of same runway separation. Contributing was the operations supervisor’s decision to troubleshoot a faulty flight strip printer instead of maintaining direct supervision of the operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Southwest Airlines flight 2493 (SWA2493) and a Textron Aviation, Inc. 560XL (N564HV) were involved in a runway incursion with overflight that resulted in a loss of separation at San Diego International Airport (SAN). SAN was equipped with the Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model-X (ASDE-X) surface radar system. The system was operational and functioned as designed. It produced both aural and visual alerts that indicated that there was an aircraft [N564HV] landing with another aircraft [SWA2493] still in position on the same runway. The local control (LC) controller immediately reacted to the ASDE-X alerts, and issued instructions to resolve the conflict, but not before standard separation had been lost. The SAN Airport Traffic Control Tower (SAN ATCT) facility was equipped with two flight strip printers, one functioned as a primary device, and the second as a backup in case the first unit failed. In post incident interviews, the SAN ATCT personnel stated that they received no training on the use or troubleshooting of these printers. Prior to the incident, the primary printer jammed. During the post-incident interview with the operations supervisor (OS), they stated that they chose to troubleshoot the primary printer rather than switching to the backup, and that this drew their attention away from the operation at the time of the incident. FAA Order JO 7110.65BB, Air Traffic Control, 2-10-3, Tower Team Position Responsibilities, states in part: Tower Team Concept and Intent: There are no absolute divisions of responsibilities regarding position operations. The tasks to be completed remain the same whether one, two, or three people are working positions within a facility/sector. The team, as a whole, has responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of that facility/sector. The LC controller noticed a flight strip at their workstation that indicated an initial altitude for an uninvolved departing aircraft that was not in accordance with facility directives and contacted Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SCT TRACON) to coordinate an appropriate altitude. This diverted their attention from N564HV and SWA2493 momentarily. During the post-incident interview conducted with the LC controller, they stated that they had used poor judgment in prioritizing their duties. This duty prioritization was not consistent with guidance contained in FAA Order JO 7110.65BB, Air Traffic Control, 2-1-1, ATC Service.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-7BD | N7734H | Southwest Airlines Co | - |
| Textron 560XL | N564HV | - | - |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Apr 2023 | Boeing 737 | Munster/Osnabruck, Germany | - | Unknown | - |
| 28 Nov 2023 | Boeing 737 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | - | Unknown | - |
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All 1,317 records for this type
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| 3 Aug 2023 | Supernal SUP83-1 | California City, California, United States | Supernal, LLC | No injuries | - |
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