La Guardia Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Flushing, New York 11371
Thursday, September 4, 2003 6:24 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After takeoff the airplane encountered a large flock of Canadian geese. The crew reported hearing a series of loud noises, followed by the failure of the right engine. The airplane subsequently made an emergency landing at a nearby airport. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed damage to the nose, fuselage, and right engine consistent with multiple bird strikes. The right engine fan blades were deformed, and had received leading edge impact damage. One fan blade had separated at the root. Additionally, a hole was found in the right engine inlet duct, which coincided with a penetration in the fuselage above the aft-most window on the right side of the airplane. The blade that penetrated the fuselage was not recovered.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An in-flight collision with birds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/4/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 624
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Flushing
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11371
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404630N
Event Location Longitude 0735148W
Event Location Airport La Guardia Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LGA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 22
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 551 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LGA
Elevation of weather observation facility 22
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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 38
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17204
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Sep 4 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Garden City

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1450A
NTSB Number NYC03FA190
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Fokker
Aircraft Model F.28 Mk 0100
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 11459
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 93
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Aug 8 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 201
Airframe Hours 25174
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name American Airlines
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 619616 MD5661
Aircraft Owner City DFW Airport
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75261
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code AALA
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/Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LGA
Departure City Flushing
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 624
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MDW
Destination City Chicago
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 7000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --