- Date
- December 21, 2019, 20:19 local (Dec 22, 2019, 02:19 UTC)
- Place
- Kansas City, MO
- Injuries
- 141 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7739ABoeing 737
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · 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
- 100797
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 bird strike during descent
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 December 21, 2019, at approximately 2020 central standard time, Southwest Airlines flight 5246, a B737-700, registration N7739A, struck a bird while descending to Kansas City International Airport (KMCI), Kansas City, Missouri. There were no injuries to the 5 crew members and 136 passengers onboard. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Ronald Reagan National Airport (KDCA), Arlington, Virginia, to KMCI. According to the flight crew, the airplane was on the downwind leg for arrival on runway 19R at KMCI. As the airplane was descending through 10,000 feet-msl altitude, the flight crew noticed a white object go through the landing lights and heard a loud bang from the from fuselage below their feet. The flight crew checked engine parameters for any anomalies and the airplane for any damage, and none was found. The flight landed uneventfully, and post flight inspection of the airplane revealed evidence of a bird strike and dents in the lower right fuselage skin. Further inspection revealed two internal frames were bent and fractured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7739A
- Reported as
- Boeing 737 (7BD)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 35110
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 45,252
- Engines
- Cfm Intl CFM56-7B24, 24,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanCfm Intl CFM56-7B24, 24,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 17, 2019
- Departed
- DCA · Washington, VA
- Destination
- MCI · Kansas City, MO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MCI · Kansas City Intl, runway 19, 10,801 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Heads up display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, Data recorder
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 11, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 16,450 total · 11,950 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 124 in the last 90 days · 91 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 5,088 total · 1,210 in this make and model · 2,993 as pilot in command · 218 in the last 90 days · 62 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- KMCI, 20 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 10, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.3 MB in all.