Boeing 757 accident near New York, New York, September 6, 2018
On September 6, 2018 at about 4:45 pm local time, a 2002 Boeing 757, registered N173AN, was involved in an accident during enroute (descent) near New York, New York. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 110 others were unhurt. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew’s failure to adequately monitor the airplane’s airspeed, which led to the captain’s aggressive control inputs to increase airspeed; these aggressive inputs resulted in injuries to three cabin crewmembers.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 2018 · about 4:45 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 110 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757 223, built 2002 · all 757s on the register
- Registration
- N173AN · no longer on the register · serial 32399
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was descending toward the destination airport with the autopilot and autothrottle systems engaged. As the airplane was approaching 12,000 ft, and the autopilot was capturing the altitude, the captain adjusted the altimeter resulting in a displayed altitude of 12,100 ft. The captain (the pilot flying) selected flight level change mode on the autopilot to recapture the altitude and set the speed at 250 knots to slow from about 255 knots. As a result, the autothrottles went to Throttle Hold mode when the throttle levers reached the aft stop. As the captain was briefing the approach, the airplane slowed and pitched up as it tried to maintain altitude with a reduced throttle setting. An international relief officer who was in the cockpit at the time commented on the airplane’s decreasing speed three times when the airplane’s airspeed was about 186 knots before stating that the captain should push the nose over. The captain disengaged the autopilot and auto throttles, aggressively pitched down, and increased the throttles. These aggressive maneuvers caused the flight attendants in the aft galley to be thrown against the ceiling. One flight attendant sustained a compound arm fracture; two other flight attendants sustained minor injuries. The crew subsequently landed the airplane without further incident.
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
What happened, in order
- Abrupt maneuver during enroute (descent) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,162 hours in all; 13,612 in this make and model; 182 in the last 90 days; 44 in the last 30 days; 8,315 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 5, 2018
- 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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,038 hours in all; 565 in this make and model; 211 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 21, 2018
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,009 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 53,074 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 4, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 255,500 lb
- Seats: 187
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Rolls-Royce RB211 (turbofan); 66,713 hours total
- Engine 2: Rolls-Royce RB211 (turbofan); 39,284 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: EGPH Edinburgh OF at 10:10 am
- Destination: JFK New York NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Flight crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 104 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
9 documents, released by the NTSB on February 17, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flight Data Recorder - Specialist's Factual Report | PDF, 17 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Flight Data Recorder - Attachment 1 (Compressed FDR Tabular Data for Event Flight) | zip file | Download |
| 3 | Interview Summary - Captain | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Interview Summary - First Officer | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Interview Summary - Relief First Officer | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Statement of Party Representatives | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Flight Attendant Statements | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 9 | Cockpit Voice Recorder - Group Chairman's Factual Report | PDF, 50 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.