Boeing incident near Melbourne, Au, July 24, 2009
On July 24, 2009 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Boeing, registered VHVBA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Melbourne (Melbourne Airport). It was flown under rules the NTSB did not record. The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 24, 2009 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Melbourne, Australia · Melbourne Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing
- Registration
- VHVBA · no longer on the register · serial 28238
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · rules the NTSB did not record
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On July 24, 2009, about 2230 UTC, a Virgin Blue, Boeing 737-700 airplane, registration VH-VBA, sufferend a failue of the nose landing gear axle. During taxi for takeoff, the right nosewheel separated from the nose landing gear leg. The aircraft was able to be taxiied back to the gate. Initial examination of the landing gear indicates a region of fatigue cracking in the lower section of the landing gear axle, which has subsequently failed. The ATSB dispatched an investigation team to Melbourne Airport and will be recovering the components for specialist examination. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Australia. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Australian Transport Safety Bureau 62 Northbourne Avenue Canberra ACT 2601 Tel: (02) 6257 4150 Tel International: +61 2 6257 4150 Fax: (02) 6247 3117 Email: atsbinfo@atsb.gov.au www.atsb.gov.au This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information obtained for, or released by, the Government of Australia.
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
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 25,208 hours
- Landing gear: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: MEL Melbourne at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.