Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
O'hare International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chicago, Illinois 60666
Monday, November 28, 2005 21:53 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane contacted a 747 crew stair structure with the underside of the left wing while taxiing. The stairs were located on the left edge of the taxiway, partially on the grass. The captain, who was a company line check airman (LCA), was sitting in the right seat during the flight. This LCA was conducting upgrade training for a captain trainee who was sitting in the left seat. In addition, an FAA inspector who was observing the training was sitting in the cockpit jump seat during the flight. While taxiing the LCA became occupied with an auxiliary power unit (APU) warning light in the cockpit. The crew was unaware that the airplane contacted something until they were informed of the damage by maintenance personnel when they reached their destination. On the night of the accident, the stairs were located at the edge of the taxiway, partially on the grass. The location of the stairs was reported to air traffic control by another airplane that taxied out after the accident airplane. Three days after the accident, the damaged stairs were located against a hangar. The damage to the underside of the left wing consisted of a series of parallel scratches and gouges from the leading edge of the wing to the trailing edge of the aileron. The scratches and gouges contained areas of red, white, and yellow paint transfers. These paint transfers matched the color of the stairs. The LCA and the captain trainee both reported that they never saw the stairs. The FAA inspector stated he saw the stairs, but thought the airplane had cleared them. None of the three reported feeling the impact with the stairs. The operator of the stairs reported that the stairs were secured against a hangar after they last used them on the day prior to the accident. The only lights near the area where the stairs were located were the taxiway lights. The accident occurred on an overcast night. The winds at the time of the accident were gusting to 27 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the flight crew to see and avoid the crew stairs and the failure of unknown persons to properly secure the stairs after use. Factors associated with the accident were the dark light conditions and the gusty winds.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/28/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 2153 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Chicago |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60666 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 415847N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0875416W |
| Event Location Airport | O'Hare International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ORD |
| 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 | 668 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2156 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ORD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 668 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 7 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 16 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 27 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.4 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19479 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FedEx |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 29 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 25 2006 11:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Shiller Park, IL ORD FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N359FE |
| NTSB Number | CHI06LA038 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | McDonnell Douglas |
| Aircraft Model | MD-10 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 46635 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 440000 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 3 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 68161 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2005 Corp. Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Memphis |
| Aircraft Owner State | TN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 38132 |
| 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 | FDEA |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | ORD |
| Departure City | Chicago |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2213 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MEM |
| Destination City | Memphis |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Taxi - to takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 25 2006 3:08PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |