Boeing 757-2S7 accident near Phoenix, Arizona, November 6, 1989
On November 6, 1989 at about 5:55 pm local time, a Boeing 757-2S7, registered N902AW, was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 98 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE GROUND HANDLER IMPROPERLY CROSSING UNDER THE AIRCRAFT WHILE IT WAS MOVING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 1989 · about 5:55 pm local time
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona · Phoenix International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 98 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-2S7 · all 757-2S7s on the register
- Registration
- N902AW · registry record · serial 23322
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING PUSHBACK THE GROUND HANDLER WALKED UNDER THE FUSELAGE IN A DIRECT LINE WITH THE NOSE GEAR. WHILE CROSSING UNDER THE FUSELAGE HE STUMBLED. THE TUG OPERATOR APPLIED EMERGENCY BRAKES BUT THE MOMENTUM OF THE MOVING AIRCRAFT CARRIED THE NOSE GEAR WHEELS OVER THE GROUND HANDLER.
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: 19,300 hours in all; 1,955 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 78 in the last 30 days; 16,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,951 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 22, 1989; 131 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 350,000 lb
- Seats: 178
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: America West Airlines
The flight
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 91 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N902AW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX90LA021.