Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Southlake, Texas 760929200
Sunday, February 20, 2011 19:24 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The Boeing 737-823 was being pushed back from its gate when the tow bar separated from the nose gear. The airplane rolled backwards and the right wing tip struck the nose of a parked DC-9. The tractor driver said the tow bar was already attached to the aircraft when he arrived. He said that he attached the other end of the tow bar to the tractor. The driver said that prior to push back, he checked the tow bar and ascertained that the bypass pin was in place and the tow bar wheels were fully retracted. Examination of the tow bar revealed no mechanical failures or abnormalities.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The tractor driver’s failure to confirm that the tow bar head/handle was secured correctly to the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 2/20/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1924 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Southlake |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 760929200 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 325349N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0970217W |
| Event Location Airport | Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l. |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DFW |
| 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 | 607 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1953 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DFW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 607 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 16 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.69 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KDFW 210153Z 17016KT 10SM FEW050 SCT250 22/1 |
| 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 | 145 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28564 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Communications Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 26 2011 2:48PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N945AN |
| NTSB Number | CEN11IA198 |
| 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 | BOEING |
| Aircraft Model | 737-823 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 30085 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 174200 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 4 |
| Passenger Seats | 154 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 160 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | American Airlines, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4333 Amon Carter Blvd., # MD5569 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fort Worth |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76155-2605 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | American Airlines, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Fort Worth |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 76155-2605 |
| Operator Code | AALA |
| 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 | DFW |
| Departure City | Southlake |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1925 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PBI |
| Destination City | Palm Beach |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 21 2011 8:49AM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |