Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Atlanta, Georgia 30320
Friday, October 7, 2011 7:26 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the tug driver, during pushback of the airplane from the gate, he turned the airplane early in order to avoid an airplane at an adjacent gate. He further stated that he did not straighten the tug in time, and it impacted the left side of the airplane he was pushing, which resulted in substantial damage to airplane's nose landing gear support beam and a puncture in the pressure vessel. According to the pilot of the flight, during pushback, the airplane overshot the centerline and was being moved back to the centerline when he observed the tug continue aft and then heard a metallic sound. The pilot further stated that the pushback did not appear to be too fast and that there appeared to be only minor directional control problems with the tug until the impact.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The tug driver's inadequate control of the tug while maneuvering the airplane during pushback.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/7/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 726 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Atlanta |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30320 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 333807N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0842513W |
| Event Location Airport | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ATL |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1026 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 652 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ATL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1026 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 70 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.32 |
| 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 | 81 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29418 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Delta Airlines |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2011 9:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N922DL |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA038 |
| 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 | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT CO |
| Aircraft Model | MD-88 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 49646 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 149500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 3 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 3 |
| Passenger Seats | 136 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 142 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 6 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 62135 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WILMINGTON TRUST CO TRUSTEE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19890 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | DELTA AIR LINES INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Atlanta |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30320 |
| Operator Code | DALA |
| 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 | DALA026A |
| 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 | ATL |
| Departure City | Atlanta |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 726 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | CMH |
| Destination City | Columbus |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2011 9:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |