Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Memphis Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Memphis, Tennessee 38116
Friday, November 10, 2006 23:12 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
It rained heavily prior to the flight's arrival; however, it was not raining at the time of the accident. The first officer landed the airplane and the captain took over the controls as the airplane slowed. The captained then exited at taxiway S4, and the local controller cleared the flight to cross runway 36C at Kilo. As the captain exited runway 36R, he asked the first officer "where is Kilo?" She responded "on the right," indicating that Kilo was to their right. As the captain crossed 36C and entered the junction of taxiways Kilo, Charlie, and Charlie 5 he saw that gate C16 was off of his left side. He saw the marshaller and turned left towards the gate. Both flight crew members did not realize that the airplane had rolled off the taxiway until they felt the nose landing gear impact a concrete drainage ditch. Examination of the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane was located in the grass median off the right side of taxiway Charlie, approximately 250 feet south of taxiway Kilo. The nose landing gear assembly had collapsed and the forward pressure bulkhead was punctured. According to the Airport Safety and Certification Division, FAA Southern Region, all of the taxiway signs and taxiway lights were lit and working properly at the time of the accident. The taxiway edge markings were correct and the centerline was in place. The signs and markings were in accordance with the approved sign plan and Airport Certification Manual.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The captain's inadequate visual look out during taxi.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/10/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2312 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Memphis |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 38116 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 350219N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0895822W |
| Event Location Airport | MEMPHIS INTL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MEM |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 341 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2353 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KMEM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 341 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 13000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.96 |
| 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 | 122 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23624 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 10 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 28 2008 12:03PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Memphis FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N956AT |
| NTSB Number | ATL07LA016 |
| 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 | Boeing |
| Aircraft Model | 717-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 55018 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 102002 |
| 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 | 117 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5 |
| Airframe Hours | 17847.6 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AirTran Airways, Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 9955 Airtran Blvd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Orlando |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32827 |
| 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 | ZZDA |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KATL |
| Departure City | ATLANTA |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2305 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | KMEM |
| Destination City | Memphis |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Taxi - from landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 12 2008 2:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |