# Incident 19971218043299I: Boeing 727232, Salt Lake City, UT, December 18, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 18, 1997, 10:45 local time
- Place: Salt Lake City, UT
- Airport: Salt Lake City International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: DALA
- Location: 40.7884° N, 111.9778° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SALT LAKE CITY INTL (SLC), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7884&lon=-111.9778&mi=10
- Aircraft: N404DA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N404DA-2001-02-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing 727-232 (registry code 1384082, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-727-232) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 727232
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 9,773 total, 7,324 in this make and model, 142 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971218043299I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: AFTER COMPLETING AN UNEVENTFUL FLIGHT FROM CHICAGO, IL (ORD), DELTA FLIGHT 1631 (DL 1631) WAS CLEARED BY DELTA RAMP CONTROL TO GATE C4 AT SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SLC). AS DL 1631 STARTED A LEFT TURN INTO GATE C4, FIVE GROUND PERSONNEL WERE PRESENT TO HELP GUIDE THE AIRPLANE IN. ONE PERSON WAS WORKING THE STOP LIGHT, ONE WING WALKER WAS ON EACH WING, AND TWO PEOPLE WERE IN FRONT OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE RAMP AREA WAS FREE AND CLEAR OF SNOW AND ICE AND ALL PAINTED LINES WERE CLEARLY VISIBLE TO THE CAPTAIN. ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH THE TURN, THE CAPTAIN STOPPED THE AIRPLANE WHEN HE WAS GIVEN A RED LIGHT. AFTER SEVERAL BAGGAGE CARTS WERE MOVED OUT OF THE WAY NEAR THE JETWAY, THE CAPTAIN BEGAN TO MOVE FORWARD AGAIN AFTER RECEIVING A GREEN LIGHT. THE AIRPLANE COMPLETED THE TURN AT NORMAL SPEED AND WAS ALIGNED WITH THE CENTERLINE GUIDE LIGHTS AND THE PAINTED CENTERLINE ON THE RAMP. ABOUT 15 TO 20 FEET SHORT OF THE JETWAY, THE CAPTAIN SAW TWO GROUND PERSONNEL IN FRONT OF THE AIRPLANE LOOKING TO THE LEFT FOLLOWED BY A CROSSED ARM STOP SIGNAL. THE GREEN LIGHT WAS STILL ON AT THE TIME. AS THE CAPTAIN APPLIED THE BRAKES, HE FELT THE AIRPLANE SHUDDER. HE STOPPED THE AIRPLANE AND APPLIED THE PARKING BRAKE. THE GREEN LIGHT WAS STILL ON. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT A LANTIS LOADER WAS PARKED BETWEEN THE WING LINES OF GATES C-4 AND C-6. THE WHEELS WERE BEHIND THE LINES, BUT THE CAB OF THE LOADER EXTENDED PAST THE WING LINES. THE LEFT WING WALKER, AS WELL AS OTHER GROUND PERSONNEL ATTEMPTED TO GET THE ATTENTION OF THE STOP LIGHT OPERATOR PRIOR TO THE COLLISION. THE STOP LIGHT OPERATOR DID NOT SEE THE WING WALKER'S SIGNAL IN TIME TO STOP THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO THE COLLISION. DAMAGE TO THE AIRPLANE WAS MINOR AND LIMITED TO THE WING TIP AREA OUTBOARD OF THE LEFT LEADING EDGE FLAP. DELTA GROUND PERSONNEL INVOLVED WERE GIVEN ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND COUNSELED BY THEIR SUPERVISORS. IN ADDITION, THE WING WALKERS AND STOP LIGHT OPERATOR WERE GIVEN TIME OFF WITHOUT PAY. THIS IS A FINAL REPORT.

## Other reports on N404DA (3)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19921127051519I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19921127051519I), Nov 27, 1992: Boeing 727277 (N404DA), Covington - Cin, OH. Heard loud explosion from nose wheel area. Continued to destination. Landed safely. Unable to find cause of noise.
- [Incident 19920315012349I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920315012349I), Mar 15, 1992: Boeing 727200 (N404DA), Covington - Cin, OH. Left gear door remained open when gear retracted. Lowered gear. Diverted and landed. Gear sequence valve faulty.
- [Incident 19870221018449I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19870221018449I), Feb 21, 1987: Boeing 727232 (N404DA), Detroit, MI. Unscheduled landing due to faulty fuel crossfeed valve.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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