Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83 incident near Saint Louis, Missouri, July 25, 1998
On July 25, 1998 at about 10:57 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83, registered N9620D, suffered minor damage in an incident near Saint Louis, Missouri (Lambert St. Louis airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 148 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of the flight crew to maintain clearance from the sweeper truck. A factor in the incident was the sweeper truck.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 25, 1998 · about 10:57 pm local time
- Place
- Saint Louis, Missouri · Lambert St. Louis · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 148 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83
- Registration
- N9620D · registry record · serial 53591
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight 150 had just landed and was taxing to the gate. A sweeper truck was stopped on taxiway 'A' across from taxiway 'T', with the operator out of the truck picking up debris. The flight crew saw the truck and operator, but the first officer 'determined that the sweeper was located well clear of our aircrafts path.' The aircraft struck the sweeper truck. The flight crew thought they hit a pothole, and did not report it to Air Traffic Control (ATC). Another TWA flight saw the sweeper operator on the ground and notified ATC.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,338 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-217A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Trans World Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Destination: STL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 13,000 ft; scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 142 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI98IA275.