- Date
- October 9, 2018, 23:00 local (Oct 10, 2018, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Nashville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 91 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N287WNBoeing 737
- Defining event
- Enroute: Cabin safety event
- Weather
- Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 98459
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
flight attendant tripping over a passenger's knee that resulted in hot liquid splashing on the flight attendant.
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 October 9, 2018, about 2300 EDT, Southwest Airlines 2235, a Boeing 737-700, N287WN, was enroute to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (KCLT), Charlotte, North Carolina, when a flight attendant was burned with hot liquid. Of the 93 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant received a serious injury. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Nashville International Airport (KBNA), Nashville, Tennessee, to KCLT. As the flight attendant (FA) was conducting cabin service, she tripped over a passenger's knee, causing her to spill her beverage tray. One of the beverages was a hot tea, and it splashed on her left forearm and on the passenger's shoulder and arm. After landing, paramedics treated both the passenger and flight attendant at the gate, however, both declined to be transported to a local hospital for further examination. The following day the FA was still in pain and went to a local medical clinic where she was diagnosed with a 2nd degree burn to her forearm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N287WN
- Reported as
- Boeing 737 (7H4)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32537
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 39,495
- Engines
- Cfm Intl CFM56-7B24, 10,142 horsepower, turbo fanCfm Intl CFM56-7B24, 10,142 horsepower, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines, Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- August 16, 2018
- Departed
- KBNA · Nashville, TN
- Destination
- KCLT · Charlotte, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Heads up display, Electronic primary flight display, 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 · 5
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 5, 2017
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 12,000 total · 9,000 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 49.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 12,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 8,500 as pilot in command · 230 in the last 90 days · 160 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- Serious
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Night
- Wind
- 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KBNA
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 6, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 593 KB in all.