Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Washington Reagan National Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Washington, District Of Columbia 20001
Tuesady, June 7, 2005 6:41 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While the flight crew was preparing the aircraft for a revenue flight at jetway 23 at Washington Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC., an NMC-Wollard mobile belt baggage loader was driven under, and struck, a USAirways Express Embraer EMB-170 jet. The driver (fleet service agent) of the belt loader was fatally injured during the accident sequence, while the aircraft and belt loader received minor damage. The initial examination of the belt loader revealed no external damage other than damage to the steering wheel, steering column, and the operator's seat. The upper portion of the steering wheel had struck the underside of the airplane during the impact sequence, and was bent into an oval shape to the rear and in a downward direction. There was no evidence of breaks or kinks in the hydraulic lines leading to the steering actuator. The single eyewitness to the accident stated that he saw the fleet service agent approach the aircraft from the right rear, turn to the right around a fuel cart located off the right wing, and try to stop the belt loader. He speculated that her foot may have slipped off the brake pedal at that time. An accelerator pedal and a brake pedal are located in the footwell of the belt loader. Both are metal, and the 2 ¾ by 4-inch brake pedal has raised holes in it to improve foot traction. The right edge of the pedal also has a 5/8-inch raised lip. The accelerator pedal is curved, and is 3 ½ inches by 2 inches. The pedals are 4 inches apart laterally. The vehicle's brake system was examined using a skid test. The NMC-Wollard TC-888 belt loader is a four-wheeled, gasoline powered, single-seat vehicle equipped with an open driver's compartment and a 297.5-inch continuous moving belt assembly. The belt assembly can pivot, via hydraulics, at its rear end to facilitate different aircraft baggage door sill heights. When the belt assembly is lowered completely, the vehicle is 47.5 inches high, measured from the top of the steering wheel to the ground. The weight of the vehicle is 5,900 pounds. All four wheel assemblies achieved a locked condition when the brakes were fully applied. Also, the vehicle's maximum sustained speed of 18 miles per hour (mph) was measured utilizing a police speed-detecting laser. An examination of the vehicle's engine and drive components revealed no damage or defects. The throttle return springs were firm and provided good return. The accelerator foot pedal was not damaged, and was able to move without any restrictions or objects impeding its movement. The driver (fleet service agent) was hired by USAirways on May 9, 2005, almost one month prior to the accident, and had never driven a belt loader before joining that company.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inexperience of the driver (fleet service agent) in the operation of a belt loader, which resulted in the belt loader being driven under, and colliding with, the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/7/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 641 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Washington |
| Event State | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 20001 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Washington Reagan National |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DCA |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 651 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDCA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.94 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20084 |
| NTSB Notification Source | AAI-100 Federal Aviation Admin |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 7 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 13 2007 1:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FSDO #27, Dulles, VA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N803MD |
| NTSB Number | DCA05MA070 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Embraer |
| Aircraft Model | 170 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 78153 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 70 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | USAirways |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 12346 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Pittsburg |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 15231 |
| 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 | USAA |
| 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 | DCA |
| Departure City | Washington |
| Departure State | DC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Standing - engine(s) not operating |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 23 2006 3:05PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DELI |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |