- Date
- April 23, 1992, 14:43 local (18:43 UTC)
- Place
- Flushing, NY
- Injuries
- 308 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N721DALockheed L-1011-385
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920423022529I
- Case key
- 37081
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
The captain's improper aircraft control which resulted in an excessive nosewheel rate of sink and subsequent overload failure of the nose gear tires.
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
Witnesses stated that the airplane landed hard and that the tires 'blew' when the nosewheel touched down. The 'normal sink rate' for the nose wheel is approximately 1 foot per second. The calculated rate of sink for flight 702 was 14.66 feet per second. Post incident examination of the tires revealed the failure was not because of heat from an over or under inflation condition. It was concluded by the tire manufacturer that the tire failure was 'most likely' the result of the excessive forces applied during the nosewheel touchdown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N721DA
- Reported as
- Lockheed L-1011-385
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1139
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce RB211-524, 50,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Delta Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- PBI · Palm Beach, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LGA · Laguardia International, runway 4, 7,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 55
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 160 in this make and model · 60 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N721DA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.