- Date
- June 17, 2006, 15:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Dulles, VA
- Injuries
- 183 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N653UABoeing 767-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060617029759A
- Case key
- 63937
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 driver's failure to follow company standard operating procedures. A factor was the driver's diverted attention to an on-time departure.
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The airplane was at the gate with the crew and passengers onboard, the parking brake was set, and the loading bridge was retracted. A ramp employee, operating a tractor with a baggage cart in tow, was on the left side of the airplane when a pushback guideman on the right side of the airplane signaled that he needed hand wands for the pushback. Forgetting he had a baggage cart in tow, the driver drove under the fuselage to reach the guideman. In the process, the baggage cart impacted the underside of the fuselage about 25 feet aft of the nose and 17 feet in front of the wings. The driver subsequently stated to company officials that he did not follow standard operating procedures when he drove under the fuselage, and that, while trying to ensure an on-time departure, he forgot he had the baggage cart attached to the tractor. The driver was current on all required training.
Factual narrative
On June 17, 2006, about 1525 eastern daylight time, a Boeing 767-300, N653UA, operating as United Airlines flight 395, was substantially damaged when it was hit by a baggage cart at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Dulles, Virginia. The 7 crewmembers and 176 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed for Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois. The scheduled passenger flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 121.
According to a company flight safety investigator, the airplane was at the gate with the parking brake set, and the loading bridge had been retracted. A ramp employee, operating a tractor with a baggage cart in tow, was on the left side of the airplane when a pushback guideman on the right side of the airplane signaled that he needed hand wands for the pushback. Forgetting he had a baggage cart in tow, the driver drove under the fuselage to reach the guideman. In the process, the baggage cart impacted the underside of the fuselage about 25 feet aft of the nose and 17 feet in front of the wings.
The driver subsequently stated to company officials that he did not follow standard operating procedures when he drove under the fuselage, and that, while trying to ensure an on-time departure, he forgot he had the baggage cart attached to the tractor. The driver was current in all required training.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N653UA
- Reported as
- Boeing 767-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25391
- Airframe hours
- 60,261
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PW4000, 64,500 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney PW4000, 64,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- United Air Lines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · May 1, 2006
- Departed
- IAD · Sterling, VA
- Destination
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- IAD · Washington-Dulles
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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,557 total · 2,958 in this make and model · 218 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2006
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 5,414 total · 2,958 in this make and model · 191 in the last 90 days · 56 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- IAD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N653UA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.