- Date
- December 22, 1996, 18:00 local (Dec 23, 1996, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Las Vegas, NV
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 339 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Pushback/towing
- Aircraft
- N151SYMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-15
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 14, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19961222042409A
- Case key
- 29704
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
the ramp agent's failure to maintain a good situational awareness of the push-back. A factor was the dark night lighting conditions and the general communication failure of the ground push-back crew.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The ramp agent was functioning as the 'talker' during the push back operation and his headset was plugged into the aircraft at the nose wheel well. The agent realized he had forgotten his lighted hand wands and moved to the wheel well to unplug his headset from the aircraft just as the tug driver started pushing the aircraft back from the gate. The injured agent's foot and ankle were run over and crushed by one of the nose wheel tires.
Factual narrative
On December 22, 1996, at 1800 hours Pacific standard time, a ramp agent was injured during the push-back of Sun Country Airlines flight 94 from the gate at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15, N151SY, was operated by Sun Country Airlines, Inc., as a non-scheduled domestic passenger charter flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The ramp agent sustained serious injuries when his foot and ankle were run over by the nose landing gear tires. The 3 flight deck crew, 9 cabin attendants, and 327 passengers onboard the aircraft were not injured. There was no damage to the aircraft. The flight was originating as a non-stop flight to Detroit, Michigan.
The ramp agent was functioning as the "talker" during the push back operation and his headset was plugged into the aircraft at the nose wheel well. The agent realized he had forgotten his lighted hand wands and moved to the wheel well to unplug his headset from the aircraft just as the tug driver started pushing the aircraft back from the gate. The injured agent's foot and ankle were run over and crushed by one of the nose wheel tires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N151SY
- Reported as
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 48295
- Airframe hours
- 32,178
- Engine
- GE CF6-50, 52,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Sun Country Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Co. Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 22, 1996 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- LAS
- Destination
- DET · Detroit, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LAS · Mccarran 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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 16,800 total · 2,862 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 210° at 15 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.