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| Date: | Tuesday 22 April 2003 |
| Time: | 11:52 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD-88 |
| Owner/operator: | Delta Air Lines |
| Registration: | N974DL |
| MSN: | 53242/1833 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1991 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 33331 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT8D219 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 61 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN/KDEN) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN/KDEN) |
| Cincinnati Municipal Airport, OH (LUK/KLUK) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
According to Delta Air Lines, the airplane arrived at 0951. The airplane was scheduled to depart at 1100, but was delayed due to the previous flight crews' report of a take off slat warning light indication problem. A maintenance check was completed and pushback for the next flight occurred at 1206. At 1224, while the crew was completing the pre-take off checks during the taxi, the captain reported another take off slat warning light indication problem. Maintenance requested that the captain return the airplane to the gate so a technician could reexamine the fault. At 1241, a maintenance technician assessed the problem and stated to the captain that "were gonna [sic] have to mess up with your takeoff condition here and you know after we do this, you're not supposed to move anything." The captain stated "right." The maintenance check procedures required that "either or both" engine throttles to be advanced to verify the operation of the warning horn. The operation of the system was verified and the slats were set in the takeoff configuration. During the entire maintenance check, the captain and first officer remained seated. At 1251, the first officer called for and received pushback clearance. The engines were started during pushback, and the captain stated that "prior to the engine start sequence, I did not direct re-accomplishment of the before start checklist." The captain said "the pushback and initial stages of the engine start sequence appeared normal." However, shortly after engine start and with the tug still attached, the airplane began to move forward under its own power. At that time, the captain noticed that the throttles were still advanced. The captain and first officer both reached to pull the engine throttles back to idle, but the airplane had moved forward enough to cause the tug and tow bar to jackknife to the left, striking the airplane and leaving a 4-foot long gash in the fuselage. The captain shut down the engines, secured the cockpit, and assessed the situation.
Probable Cause: the flight crew's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in engine start with the throttles advanced and the subsequent impact with the tug. Contributing factors include, the flight crew's improper procedures/directives and failure to re-accomplish the before start checklist, the captain's diverted attention, the manufacturer's inadequate MEL procedures, the manufacturer's insufficiently defined conditions/steps, and the tug.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DEN03FA070
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Oct-2022 14:56 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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