Boeing 737 N8514F

Summary

On 19 December 2023 at about 23:30 local time, a Boeing 737 registered N8514F, operated by Southwest Airlines Co, was involved in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri, United States. 107 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

19 December 2023 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.7472, -90.3614

Aircraft

Boeing 737

Registration

N8514F

Category

Airplane

Year built

2016

Engines

2

Operator

Southwest Airlines Co

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DCA24LA051

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Southwest Airlines flight 2217 struck a bird while climbing though 6,000 ft. after departure from the St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri. According to the flight crew, during the climb they saw a “quick flash” pass diagonally from right to left across the nose of the airplane, followed by a “thud” sound. Which they surmised was a bird that had impacted the nose or belly area of the airplane. After confirming that the flight controls, engines, and pressurization system were operating normally, they decided to continue to their destination. They advised the company of a possible bird strike via an aircraft communicating and reporting system (ACARS) message to coordinate with maintenance for an inspection and damage assessment upon landing. The flight continued normally with no change in the performance or operation of the airplane and landed without further incident. After landing the crew performed a post-flight walk around to search for any evidence of a bird strike, when they discovered impact damage to the leading edge of the left horizontal stabilizer (see figure 1). Maintenance personnel subsequently discovered a crack, about 12 inches long, in the left horizonal stabilizer lower spar chord. Although the bird impact caused substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer, the flight crew was able to control the airplane and the captain reported that “the flight controls and everything felt normal”. Figure 1 – Photo of the left horizontal stabilizer leading edge showing the location of the bird impact. (Source: Southwest Airlines) A review of pilot reports near the time and location of the event revealed that no prior information about bird activity had been reported.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.