Airbus Industrie A320-211 incident near Fargo, North Dakota, October 21, 2007
On October 21, 2007 at about 1:07 am local time, a Airbus Industrie A320-211, registered N331NW, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fargo, North Dakota (Hector International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 138 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the Brake and Steering Control Unit, which allowed the nose landing gear to turn to the 90-degree position.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 21, 2007 · about 1:07 am local time
- Place
- Fargo, North Dakota · Hector International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 138 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A320-211 · all A320-211s on the register
- Registration
- N331NW · no longer on the register · serial 318
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Shortly after departure, the flightcrew received a Brake and Steering Control Unit (BSCU) channel 2 fault message. Upon reaching 10,000 feet, the crew reset the BSCU per the cockpit operational manual (COM); however, the BSCU channel 2 fault returned and they could not turn off the auto brakes, nor could they change the brake setting from “Maximum.” The crew confirmed that they had “yellow” brake pressure (alternate brakes and parking brake), and believed that they would be landing with alternate brakes. Because turning the antiskid and nosewheel steering to the “Off” position would also turn off maximum braking, they discussed landing with the antiskid and nosewheel steering selected “Off” if necessary. When the crew extended the landing gear during the first approach, they received a landing gear shock absorber fault indication and the auto throttles and autopilot turned off. The crew then contacted air traffic control (ATC) and requested a climb to assess the situation. The captain stated that the landing gear remained down and the flaps were raised. The first officer continued to perform the procedures in the COM and contacted maintenance control to inform them of the landing gear shock absorber fault. The autopilot and auto throttles remained inoperative. The flight crew then requested and received vectors to final approach. The captain stated that they set the flaps to full and completed the landing checklist. He stated that they planned to keep the brake pressure low during the landing and continue the landing roll with manual braking until they came to a stop. They then intended to turn the nosewheel steering on and taxi to the gate. The captain stated they anticipated an uneventful landing and did not advise ATC of the situation. After landing, the crew felt a vibration when the nosewheel touched down and ATC informed them of flames near the nose gear. The airplane came to rest on the runway with the nose gear strut turned 90 degrees to the direction of landing. The lower half of both the nose gear tire and wheel assembly was ground away due to runway contact. The nose gear was the only part of the airplane that sustained damage. Postincident examination and testing of the nose landing gear systems revealed an unidentified and intermittent failure of an integrated circuit on the BSCU monitor board. This failure most likely resulted in frozen BSCU System 1 analog and discrete outputs. If the BSCU System 1 commands had frozen, the BSCU System 2 would have been able to detect the System 1 failure but would not have been able to take control. As a result of this incident, the aircraft and the nose gear manufacturers established a program intended to increase the reliability of the BSCU. Each issued a service bulletin for modification of the BSCU software and both the Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency issued Airworthiness Directives that made compliance with the service bulletin mandatory.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,440 hours in all; 6,309 in this make and model; 231 in the last 90 days; 95 in the last 30 days; 17,216 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 15, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 857 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: October 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47,672 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 15, 2007; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 166,400 lb
- Seats: 157
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm CFM56-5A1 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm CFM56-5A1 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Operator: Northwest Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Destination: FAR Fargo ND
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 250° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.54 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 134 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N331NW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
2011-11-10DCA12CA043 · accident near Minneapolis, MN · substantial damage · no injuries
1995-04-28CHI95IA342 · incident near Minneapolis, MN · no injuries
1995-04-27CHI95IA138 · incident near Washington, DC · no injuries
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.