Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
New York, New York 11430
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:59 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that the airplane was parked at Gate M, and they were in the process of calling for pushback from the gate when the airplane's right aileron and wing assembly were struck by a baggage cart attached to a ground tug.
The tug operator stated that due to heavy winds and pelting sleet his vision was impaired and that he had closed his eyes just prior to his tug nearing the wing.
The operator's investigation identified a number of factors that contributed to the tug driver's collision with the parked airplane including failure to follow procedures when operating motorized equipment inside the Diamond of Safety, failure to properly position safety cones on the right wing, failure to ensure safe driving in inclement weather, and failure to take a safety time out when unsure of the intended path of the moving vehicle.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The tug driver's failure to comply with ramp safety procedures.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/31/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1259 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | New York |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 11430 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403823N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0734613W |
| Event Location Airport | John F. Kennedy International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | JFK |
| 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 | 13 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | 1250 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | JFK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 13 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 700 |
| 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) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 30 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.52 |
| 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 | 53 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | Director of Safety, Freedom Ai |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 27 2011 3:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | schd |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N844MJ |
| NTSB Number | DCA09FA025 |
| 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 | EMBRAER |
| Aircraft Model | EMB145 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | LR |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 145481 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 48501 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 1 |
| Passenger Seats | 50 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 53 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 7 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 135 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| 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 | Freedom Airlines Inc., |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Phoenix |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 85008 |
| Operator Code | FDKA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | JFK |
| Departure City | New York |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | JFK |
| Destination City | New York |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 27 2011 2:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | schd |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |