19791120044699I

Incident · Substantial damage

FAA incident report · Boeing 727 · Detroit, MI · November 20, 1979

Date
November 20, 1979 · 06:00 local
Place
Detroit, MI
Airport
Metro
Phase of flight
Other Ground Ops
Operating rules
Air carrier (Part 121)
Operator
NWA
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N494US
Reported as
Boeing 727
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
0 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

While towing aircraft tow bar sheared, aircraft struck tug, damaging both. Conditions were wet, misty, dark.

As the FAA filed it

WHILE TOWING AIRCRAFT TOW BAR SHEARED, AIRCRAFT STRUCK TUG, DAMAGING BOTH. CONDITIONS WERE WET, MISTY, DARK.