- Date
- June 17, 2019, 10:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Injuries
- 180 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Prior to flight
- Aircraft
- N8608NBoeing 737-8H4
- Defining event
- Prior to flight: Ground handling event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 99650
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
a provisioning truck that impacted the airplane resulting in substantial damage.
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 June 17, 2019, about 1020 eastern daylight time, Southwest Airlines flight 157, a Boeing 737-8H4, N8608N, was struck by a provisioning truck while loaded and ready for pushback at Pittsburgh International Airport (KPIT), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers on board. The airplane received substantial damage. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from KPIT to Denver International Airport (KDEN), Denver, Colorado. According to witnesses, the driver of the provisioning truck was unconscious when the truck impacted the airplane. The airplane received substantial damage to the left fuselage and internal structure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8608N
- Reported as
- Boeing 737-8H4 (No Series)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 36638
- Built
- 2013
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- KPIT · Pittsburgh, PA
- Destination
- KDEN · Denver, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KPIT · Pittsburgh International
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 25, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 MB in all.