Chicago Midway Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chicago, Illinois 60805
Saturday, May 11, 2002 17:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to witnesses, an ATA Boeing 757 collided with a SWA Boeing 737 during pushback from the gate. The SWA 737 was parked at a gate and the ATA Boeing 757 was being pushed back from another gate. The wing walkers for the ATA Boeing 757 reported they put up the "X" when they noticed the airplane was getting too close to the parked SWA 737. The tug driver reported the he lost visual contact with the wing walkers because of the landing gear. The captain of the ATA Boeing 757 reported that after it was confirmed that the aircraft had hit the SWA Boeing 737 they were pulled back into the gate. Light rain was present at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The ground personnel handled the aircraft improperly during pushback from the gate by failing to maintain clearance with the other parked aircraft. The light rain and the parked airplane that was contacted were factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/11/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1745
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Chicago
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 60805
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 414709N
Event Location Longitude 0874508W
Event Location Airport Chicago Midway
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MDW
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 616
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KMDW
Elevation of weather observation facility 616
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) -316
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report Metar KMDW 112253Z 11012KT 10SM -RA BR BKN010
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 92
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12395
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 11 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1945
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 4 2002 9:07AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office O' Hare FSDO, Schiller Park, Illinois

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N552TZ
NTSB Number CHI02LA128
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing
Aircraft Model 757-33N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32586
Certified Max Gross Weight 270000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 258
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Apr 13 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1989
Airframe Hours 1989
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Wells Fargo Bank Northwest
Aircraft Owner Street Address 79 S. Main Street MAC U 1254-031
Aircraft Owner City Salt Lake City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84111
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name American Trans Air
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7337 W. Washington St.
Operator City Indianapolis
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 46231
Operator Code AMTA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MDW
Departure City Chicago
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PHX
Destination City Phoenix
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - pushback/tow
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 23 2002 9:41AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --