- Date
- March 5, 2015
- Place
- New York, NY
- Injuries
- 132 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N909DLMcdonnell Douglas MD 88
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 3, 2017
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20150305023949A
- Case key
- 90822
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
the captain's inability to maintain directional control of the airplane due to his application of excessive reverse thrust, which degraded the effectiveness of the rudder in controlling the airplane's heading. Contributing to the accident were the captain's (1) situational stress resulting from his concerns about stopping performance and (2) attentional limitations due to the high workload during the landing, which prevented him from immediately recognizing the use of excessive reverse thrust.
Findings · 8
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
NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-16/02. On March 5, 2015, at 1102 eastern standard time, Delta Air Lines flight 1086, a Boeing MD-88, N909DL, was landing on runway 13 at LaGuardia Airport, New York, New York, when it departed the left side of the runway, contacted the airport perimeter fence, and came to rest with the airplane's nose on an embankment next to Flushing Bay. The 2 pilots, 3 flight attendants, and 98 of the 127 passengers were not injured; the other 29 passengers received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. Flight 1086 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. An instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-16/02. On March 5, 2015, at 1102 eastern standard time, Delta Air Lines flight 1086, a Boeing MD-88, N909DL, was landing on runway 13 at LaGuardia Airport, New York, New York, when it departed the left side of the runway, contacted the airport perimeter fence, and came to rest with the airplane's nose on an embankment next to Flushing Bay. The 2 pilots, 3 flight attendants, and 98 of the 127 passengers were not injured; the other 29 passengers received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. Flight 1086 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. An instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N909DL
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD 88 (88)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49540
- Built
- 1987
- Airframe hours
- 71,195
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219, 21,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney JT8D-219, 21,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Company Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 3, 2015
- Departed
- ATL · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- LGA · New York, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LGA · La Guardia, runway 13, 7,003 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- October 19, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 15,203 total · 11,687 in this make and model · 150 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- January 11, 2015
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,708 total · 2,937 in this make and model · 185 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 0.25 statute miles
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KLGA
Docket · 81
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 27, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 58.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.