Boeing 757-232 accident near Phoenix, Arizona, June 3, 1999
On June 3, 1999 at about 3:26 am local time, a Boeing 757-232, registered N656DL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 127 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's excessive and rapid forward control column movement in response to a bounced landing, which resulted in the hard touchdown of the nose wheel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 3, 1999 · about 3:26 am local time
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona · Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 127 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-232 · all 757-232s on the register
- Registration
- N656DL · no longer on the register · serial 24396
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial structural damage to the nose wheel well aft bulkhead during a hard landing. The en route flight from New York to Phoenix was uneventful. About 3 seconds before touchdown, at the termination of a visual approach, the airplane's pitch attitude increased to 5.8 degrees. The captain, who was the flying pilot, described the first touchdown as being 'firm,' and in the runway's touchdown zone, close to the centerline. There was a maintenance carry over (MCO) disabling the auto-spoiler deployment system, so the first officer manually deployed the spoilers upon touchdown. The captain stated he then applied forward pressure to the control yoke. The captain additionally reported that he 'felt a jolt' as the nose gear returned to the runway. After landing, the airplane taxied to the gate. It was subsequently examined and substantial damage was observed to the airplane's nose gear wheel well aft bulkhead, associated underlying structure, and skin panels. The digital flight data recorder was read out and it revealed that approximately 3 seconds prior to touchdown, the pitch attitude started increasing in response to nose up elevator inputs to a maximum pitch of about 5.8 degrees, and the airplane touched down (transitioned from air to ground) then became airborne again. The second air to ground transition occurred 3 seconds later and the elevator positions changed over the next second from plus 6 degrees to minus 16 degrees as the pitch attitude rapidly decreased to -0.7 degrees at a rate of 4 degrees per second. There was no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions during the landing event.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 1,445 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 32,549 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 10, 1999; 225 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 350,000 lb
- Seats: 178
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW2037 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY at 10:31 pm
- Destination: PHX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26R, 11,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 am from PHX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 119 |
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.