- Date
- August 23, 2015, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Oakland, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 147 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N232WNBoeing 737 7H4
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Prop/jet/rotor blast/suction
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 8, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 91844
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
inadvertent jet blast, resulting in debris striking ground operations personnel.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
On August 23, 2015, at Metro Oakland Airport (OAK), Oakland, California, a ground operations specialist received serious injury after being struck by a component of a service golf cart which had been blown by jet blast. Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight 1995 had pushed back from gate 26 and was beginning to taxi. Ground operations personnel were servicing another SWA aircraft parked one gate over, at gate 28. One of their golf carts was parked near the rear of aircraft. As SWA1995 began to taxi and turn to exit the alley way, the jet blast struck the roof of the golf cart which separated and hit one of the ground operations personnel. He was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken knee cap.
Factual narrative
On August 23, 2015, at Metro Oakland Airport (OAK), Oakland, California, a ground operations specialist received serious injury after being struck by a component of a service golf cart which had been blown by jet blast. Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight 1995 had pushed back from gate 26 and was beginning to taxi. Ground operations personnel were servicing another SWA aircraft parked one gate over, at gate 28. One of their golf carts was parked near the rear of aircraft. As SWA1995 began to taxi and turn to exit the alley way, the jet blast struck the roof of the golf cart which separated and hit one of the ground operations personnel. He was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken knee cap.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N232WN
- Reported as
- Boeing 737 7H4 (7H4)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32500
- Built
- 2006
- Engines
- CFM Intl. CFM56 SERIES, turbo fanCFM Intl. CFM56 SERIES, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- KOAK · Oakland, CA
- Destination
- BUR · Burbank, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KOAK · Metro Oakland Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 1,500 in this make and model
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 13,700 total · 10,504 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 8, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 688 KB in all.