ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 757-251 N550NW New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Sunday 19 January 2003
Time:07:15
Type:Silhouette image of generic B752 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing 757-251
Operator:Northwest Airlines
Registration: N550NW
MSN: 26497/968
First flight: 2001
Total airframe hrs:5188
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW2037
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA) (   United States of America)
Phase: Standing (STD)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA/KLGA), United States of America
Destination airport:Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, MN (MSP/KMSP), United States of America
Narrative:
Two maintenance technicians where on board Northwest Airlines' Airbus A.319 N313NB which was taxied from a maintenance area to Gate 10.
When they arrived in the vicinity of gate 10, the mechanic who was steering the plane, activated the parking brake and waited for ground personnel and a jetway operator to arrive. After the ground personnel arrived he released the parking brake. The airplane did not move and he advanced the throttles out of their idle detents "a couple of inches, about halfway." The airplane began to move at a "fairly decent speed," and he realized the throttles were still out of the idle detent position. He pulled the throttle back and applied brakes; however, the airplane did not slow and continued until it struck the concrete support column of the jetway, and the left wing contacted the right side of the Boeing 757, parked at gate 9. The nose gear sheared off the Airbus, and the right side of the Boeing sustained a 6-foot long, 2-foot wide gash, just aft of the R1 door.
The mechanic estimated that the airplane was about halfway down the parking line when he pulled back the throttles. Initial review of the flight data recorder for the time period surrounding the accident revealed that about 10 seconds after the parking brake was released, the thrust lever angles for both engines were increased to about 17 degrees for about 8 seconds, before they were returned to the idle position. During that time, the engines N1 and N2 speeds increased to about 71, and 85 percent, respectively.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "Maintenance personnel failure to maintain aircraft control as a result of excessive throttle input."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 3 months
Accident number: NYC03FA039
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Damaged on the ground

Sources:
» NTSB


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from New York-La Guardia Airport, NY to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, MN as the crow flies is 1626 km (1017 miles).

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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