Boeing 737-300 accident near Amarillo, Texas, May 25, 2003
On May 25, 2003 at about 2:36 am local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N343SW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Amarillo, Texas (Amarillo International Airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 68 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight crew's failure to align the airplane's ground track with the runway centerline before touchdown and the flight crew's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane after touchdown. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew's decision to continue the approach and to land with a thunderstorm (with associated gusty and variable winds) reported at the airport and the heavy rain, which reduced the flight crew's visibility on short final.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 25, 2003 · about 2:36 am local time
- Place
- Amarillo, Texas · Amarillo International Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 68 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N343SW · no longer on the register · serial 24151
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Board's full report is available at: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/FTW03MA160.pdf On May 24, 2003, about 2136 central daylight time, a Boeing 737-300 (737), N343SW, registered to and operated by Southwest Airlines Company (Southwest) as flight 2066, veered off the left side of runway 4 during landing at Amarillo International Airport (AMA), Amarillo, Texas. The flight crew steered the airplane back toward the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop on the runway. The 63 passengers and 5 crewmembers were not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The scheduled domestic air carrier flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 with an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan filed; visual meteorological conditions prevailed with thunderstorms in the vicinity of the airport. The flight originated from McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada, about 1945.
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 engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 5,900 in this make and model; 3,100 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 20, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,038 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 253 in the last 90 days; 94 in the last 30 days; 4,238 as pilot in command; 1,597 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 16, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47,995 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 13, 2003; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 138,500 lb
- Seats: 145
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: General Electric CFM-56 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Destination: AMA Amarillo TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 13,502 ft by 300 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 7 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,700 ft; a few clouds at 400 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 2:40 am from AMA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 63 |
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.