Boeing 737-700 accident near Chicago, Illinois, December 9, 2005
On December 9, 2005 at about 1:15 am local time, a Boeing 737-700, registered N471WN, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chicago, Illinois (Midway Airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 18 people had minor injuries; 85 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots' failure to use available reverse thrust in a timely manner to safely slow or stop the airplane after landing, which resulted in a runway overrun. This failure occurred because the pilots' first experience and lack of familiarity with the airplane's autobrake system distracted them from thrust reverser usage during the challenging landing. Contributing to the accident were Southwest Airline's 1) failure to provide its pilots with clear and consistent guidance and training regarding company policies and procedures related to arrival landing distance calculations; 2) programming and design of its onboard performance computer, which did not present inherent assumptions in the program critical to pilot decision making; 3) plan to implement new autobrake procedures without a familiarization period; and 4) failure to include a margin of safety in the arrival assessment to account for operational uncertainties. Also contributing to the accident was the pilots' failure to divert to another airport given reports that included poor braking action and a tailwind component greater than 5 knots. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the absence of an engineering materials arresting system, which was needed because of the limited runway safety area beyond the departure end of runway 31C.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 2005 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Midway Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 18 people had minor injuries; 85 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-700 · all 737-700s on the register
- Registration
- N471WN · no longer on the register · serial 32471
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAR-07/06. On December 8, 2005, about 1914 central standard time, Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight 1248, a Boeing 737-7H4, N471WN, ran off the departure end of runway 31 center (31C) after landing at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois. The airplane rolled through a blast fence, and airport perimeter fence, and onto an adjacent roadway, where it struck an automobile before coming to a stop. A child in the automobile was killed, one automobile occupant received serious injuries, and three other automobile occupants received minor injuries. Eighteen of the 103 airplane occupants (88 passengers, 3 flight attendants, and 2 pilots) received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 and had departed from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland, about 1758 eastern standard time. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 243 in the last 90 days; 83 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: July 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,273 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 1, 2006; 168 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 154,500 lb
- Seats: 137
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International 56-7B24 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International 56-7B24 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BWI Baltimore MD at 10:58 pm
- Destination: MDW Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31C, 6,522 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 110° at 7 knots
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 1:15 am from MDW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 18 | 80 |
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.
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.