Boeing 737-300 incident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 24, 1995
On January 24, 1995 at about 4:15 am local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N155AW, was involved in an incident near Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque Int'L Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
maintenance personnel inadvertently overservicing the left main landing gear strut with nitrogen that, during rotation with the aircraft weight on the strut reduced, gave the pilots a rolling sensation to the right.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 24, 1995 · about 4:15 am local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico · Albuquerque Int'L Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N155AW · no longer on the register · serial 23777
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THIS AIRCRAFT WAS INVOLVED IN FOUR MOMENTARY UNCOMMANDED ROLLS TO THE RIGHT DURING ROTATION. IN EACH INSTANCE, THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY CORRECT THE SITUATION AND CONTINUE THE FLIGHT WITHOUT FURTHER PROBLEMS. NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM AND TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. AFTER THE FOURTH INCIDENT, THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUT WAS FOUND TO HAVE BEEN OVERSERVICED WITH NITROGEN. THIS ADDITIONAL PRESSURE TO THE STRUT WOULD SUDDENLY LIFT THE LEFT WING DURING ROTATION WHEN THE WEIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT ON THE LANDING GEAR IS REDUCED, THUS GIVING THE PILOTS A ROLLING SENSATION TO THE RIGHT. THE STRUT WAS RESERVICED WITH OIL AND NITROGEN AND THE AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN RETURNED TO SERVICE WITH NO MORE OCCURRENCES. THE UPPER WING SURFACE PANEL SUPPORT ROD BROKE DUE TO HIGH-CYCLE FATIGUE AND WAS NOT CONSIDERED A FACTOR IN THESE INSTANCES.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 25,231 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 23, 1995; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 125,000 lb
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM-56-3 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: America West Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Destination: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26, 13,373 ft by 300 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 14,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 am from ABQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 32 |
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.