Boeing 747-400 incident near Denver, Colorado, April 23, 2006
On April 23, 2006 at about 10:33 pm local time, a Boeing 747-400, registered DABVN, suffered minor damage in an incident near Denver, Colorado (Denver International airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 401 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ground crew's failure to retract the adjacent jetway and to verify the airplane's clearance with the jetway as it taxied.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 2006 · about 10:33 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Denver International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 401 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-400 · all 747-400s on the register
- Registration
- DABVN · no longer on the register · serial RT441
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Boeing 747-400 was taxiing to the gate following landing. The adjacent jetway had not been retracted completely after it was last used. As the airplane approached its jetway, the airplane's number 1 engine struck the adjacent jetway causing scraping, dents, and puncture damage to the engine nacelle.
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: 19,635 hours in all; 234 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: March 1, 2006
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,463 hours in all; 294 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: January 1, 2006
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 74,199 hours
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: General Electric CF6-80 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FRA Frankfurt
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 30,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.86 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from DEN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 19 | |||
| Passengers | 382 |
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.