- Date
- May 13, 1997, 11:20 local (15:20 UTC)
- Place
- Flushing, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 111 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N984DLMcDonnell Douglas MD-88
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970513013389A
- Case key
- 39360
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 vehicle's driver failure to maintain adequate clearance from and resulted in a collision with a parked aircraft.
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 McDonnell Douglas MD-88 was parked at its gate and boarding passengers. An 18 wheel tractor-trailer had been parked between gates 5 and 6 at LaGuardia Airport, to deliver tires. When the driver of the truck was advised that he would have to move the vehicle due to an airplane inbound for gate 5, he got into the truck and moved it without a ground guide. A witness observed the driver steer the truck cab around which then hit the right wing tip of the MD-88. The airplane pivoted around the main gear which were chocked, and the nose moved approximately 4 1/2 feet to the right, away from the jetway. A passenger was stepping from the jetway into the airplane, when the airplane moved, and the passenger fell 8 feet to the ground.
Factual narrative
On May 13, 1997, at 1120 eastern daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, N984DL, operated by Delta Air Lines as Flight 363, sustained minor damage when it was struck by a moving vehicle, while parked and boarding passengers at Gate 3, LaGuardia Airport, Flushing, New York. The certificated airline transport pilot, first officer, 3 flight attendants, and 106 passengers were not injured. One flight attendant and one passenger received minor injuries, while one passenger was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the passenger flight destined for Dallas, Texas. An instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 121.
An 18-wheel tractor-trailer, operated by Truck Distribution and Transportation Service Inc., had been parked between gates 5 and 6 at LaGuardia, to deliver tires to Delta Air Lines. When the driver of the truck was advised that he would have to move the vehicle due to an airplane inbound for gate 5, he got into the truck and moved it without a ground guide.
According to a witness:
"...he just swung the cab around and hit the right wing at the tip. The a/c [airplane] pivoted around the main gear which were chocked, and the nose moved approximately 4 1/2 feet to the right, away from the jetway. The Pax [passenger] was just stepping into the a/c when it moved away causing the Pax to fall to the ground...
The passenger fell about 8 feet to the ground, and sustained a fractured right elbow and contusions to his abdominal and pelvic areas.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N984DL
- Reported as
- McDonnell Douglas MD-88
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 53311
- Engine
- P&W JT80219, 19,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- LGA
- Destination
- DFW · Dallas, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LGA · Laguardia
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,469 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.