Boeing 737-3S3 accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, April 19, 1997
On April 19, 1997 at about 1:24 am local time, a Boeing 737-3S3, registered N313AW, was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada (Mc Carran International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 124 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
inadequate service provided by the TRACON controller, by issuing a radar vector to the Boeing 737 flight, which resulted in inadequate separation from a Beech 99 that the controller had just terminated from radar service; and failure of the controller to provide adequate traffic/safety advisories to the Boeing 737 crew. Additional causes were the delayed initiation of a TCAS evasive maneuver by the first officer (copilot) of the Boeing 737, and failure of the Boeing 737 Captain to adequately supervise the response of the first officer to the TCAS resolution advisory. Inadequate visual lookout by the Beech 99 pilot was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 19, 1997 · about 1:24 am local time
- Place
- Las Vegas, Nevada · Mc Carran International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 124 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3S3 · all 737-3S3s on the register
- Registration
- N313AW · no longer on the register · serial 23712
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Beech 99 (B99) departed on VFR flight (flt) & began climb to 10,500', heading 175 deg. At boundary of class B airspace, ATC controller (TRACON) terminated radar service as B99 was at 7,000'; 40 sec later, pilots (plts) of Boeing 737 (B737) contacted TRACON, on Cresso 3 Arrival (STAR), & were cleared to descend to 10,000' on converging vector of 020 deg; 50 sec later, TRACON advised B737 of traffic (B99), 3 mi ahead, opposite direction & 1,700' lower. TRACON did not mention traffic was climbing, nor issue safety alert; 18 sec later, TRACON told B737 plts they could 'climb as you wish.' 1st officer (FO, plt flying TCAS equipped B737) responded to a resolution advisory by using autopilot & neglected to press 'level change,' which delayed avoidance maneuver. B737 plts saw B99 at close range; FO maneuvered abruptly to avert collision. B737 flight attendant was injured during maneuver. B99 plt saw B737 behind window post, too late for evasive action. Aircraft passed with estimated 200' vertical & no lateral separation (sepn). TCAS event analysis concluded that if B737 pilots had responded to TCAS advisories, within system design parameters, there would have been 700' vertical sepn without abrupt maneuvering. STAR was in heavily traveled area, often used by plts of small VFR aircraft.
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 instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,500 hours in all; 5,600 in this make and model; 227 in the last 90 days; 84 in the last 30 days; 8,400 as pilot in command; 3,425 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 34,612 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 18, 1997; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 132
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM56-3B2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: America West Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SNA Santa Ana CA
- Destination: LAS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 18 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 120 |
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.