- Date
- July 22, 2021, 08:54 local (12:54 UTC)
- Place
- Romulus, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 193 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N376DNAirbus A321-211
- Defining event
- Taxi: Abrupt maneuver
- 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
- 103537
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
While conducting the safety briefing, the forward flight attendant was thrown backwards into the flight deck door due to the sudden stopping of the airplane by the flight crew to prevent a collision with a bus. Contributing to this accident was the bus drivers difficultly in observing the airplane moving towards the roadway.
Findings · 3
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
According to the flight crew, just after they began to taxi, they observed a bus passing in front of the airplane requiring the captain to suddenly apply the brakes to avoid colliding with the bus. The captain immediately called the flight attendants (FA), who were conducting their safety demonstration, to check on their condition and the condition of the passengers. The forward FA indicated that he had been thrown backwards into the flight deck door but was alright to continue with the flight. While enroute to Denver, the forward FA informed the flight crew that he was a little sore, but he and the rest of the FAs were fine to continue their return flight to Detroit. However, after arriving in Detroit, the forward flight attendant sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a broken rib. According to the operator, the Delta employee bus was in the process of training new drivers. There are four roadways that cross the taxi lanes between the two terminals. At the time of the accident, the only policy was to stop at the stop sign and visually confirm it was safe to cross the taxi lanes. A review of video from the bus showed that it stopped at the stop sign and then proceeded to cross the taxi lanes. The video shows that from the perspective of the bus driver, it is difficult to see the area in which the airplane was parked from the roadway and the 45-degree pushback made it difficult to observe the airplane moving towards the roadway. As a result of this event, Delta implemented a restriction on vehicle crossing the taxi lanes when there are airplanes in the vicinity of the roadway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N376DN
- Reported as
- Airbus A321-211
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 8858
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 6,877
- Engines
- CFM Intl CFM56-5B3/3, 32,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanCFM Intl CFM56-5B3/3, 32,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines Inc
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · August 2, 2021
- Destination
- DEN · Denver, CO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KDTW · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system
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 · 6
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,931 total · 5,748 in this make and model · 166 in the last 90 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,676 total · 3,676 in this make and model · 135 in the last 90 days
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- Serious
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- Minor
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 16,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 51 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.24 inHg
- Observed at
- DTW
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 19, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.