# NTSB LAX03LA295: de Havilland DH-8-202, N455YV, Phoenix, AZ, September 21, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 21, 2003, 16:10 local (23:10 UTC) - Place: Phoenix, AZ - Coordinates: 33.434165, -112.008056 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4342&lon=-112.0081&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Pushback/towing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/200) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 32 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 30, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 57979 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX03LA295 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57979/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA295 ## Probable cause the ground agent's inadequate visual lookout during push back, which resulted in his failure to maintain clearance between the airplanes. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, taxi - pushback/tow - object - aircraft parked/standing - visual lookout - inadequate, ground personnel (cause) - clearance - not maintained, ground personnel (cause) ## Analysis On push back from the gate, the airplane collided with a parked and unoccupied Bombardier CL-65. The elevator of the CL-65 sliced through the rudder of deHavilland. A ground agent was pushing the deHavilland from the gate and did not clear the 30-foot turn line. He then pushed the tail into the CL-65; as a result, the elevator of the CL-65 sliced through the rudder of the deHavilland. The operator felt the accident could have been prevented if the ground agent would have watched his wing walkers during the push back and cleared the turn line, prior to turning the airplane. ## Factual narrative On September 21, 2003, about 1610 mountain standard time, a deHavilland DH-8-202, N455YV, struck a parked and unoccupied Bombardier CL-65 airplane, N7358, when ground personnel were pushing the deHavilland for departure at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona. The elevator of the Bombardier sliced through the rudder of deHavilland. The deHavilland sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, commercial co-pilot, 1 flight attendant, and 29 passengers on the deHavilland were not injured. Mesa Airlines, Inc., d.b.a. America West Express, was operating the flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the scheduled domestic passenger cross-country flight that was destined for Yuma MCAS-Yuma International (YUM), Yuma, Arizona, with a 1605 departure. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. The operator reported in a written statement that a ground agent was pushing the deHavilland from the gate and did not clear the 30-foot turn line. The ground agent then pushed the tail into the Bombardier; as a result, the elevator of the Bombardier sliced through the rudder of the deHavilland. The operator felt the accident could have been prevented if the ground agent would have watched his wing walkers during the push back and cleared the turn line, prior to turning the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: N455YV (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: de Havilland DH-8-202 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 455 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney PW123D turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 121 - Operator: Mesa Airlines, Inc., doing business as America West Express - Registered owner: Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA Trustee - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Departed: PHX, Phoenix, AZ - Destination: YUM, Yuma, AZ - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: PHX, Phoenix Sky Harbor ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 33; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1; flight hours: 4,800 total, 870 in this make and model - Co-pilot; age 26; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1; flight hours: 1,350 total, 900 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030921026619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030921026619A), Sep 21, 2003: Dhav DHC8202, Phoenix, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) Aircraft #455YV (dash-8) was pushing tail north out of terminal 4 gate B-1C. The pushback agent did not clear the 30FT turn line as he turned the tail… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.