Boeing 727-232 accident near Flushing, New York, November 27, 1999
On November 27, 1999 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Boeing 727-232, registered N521DA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Flushing, New York (La Guardia Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 73 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
was the use of a defective tow bar, due to the lack of an adequate inspection by contract personnel, the airlines lack of an adequate preventative maintenance program for the tow bars, and the lack of oversight by the airline on the contract personnel who inspected the tow bar. A factor was the softer than specified shear pins used in the tow bar.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 27, 1999 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Flushing, New York · La Guardia Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 73 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727-232 · all 727-232s on the register
- Registration
- N521DA · registry record · serial 21472
- 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 B727 was dispatched with the APU inoperative. The captain elected to start all engines prior to pushback due to a short taxi. After pushback, and during a forward tow, a shear pin on the tow bar failed, and the airplane rolled into a tug. Examination of the tow bar revealed looseness in the head, and worn holes for the shear pins. Metallurgical examination of the shear pins found pre-existing cracking and the pins were softer than specified. The pushback operation was conducted by contract personnel. The failed tow bar had been inspected daily by contract personnel with no problems noted and it continued in use. A fleet wide campaign found 63 percent of the tow bars in need of maintenance. The investigation revealed the airline did not have a preventative maintenance program for their tow bars, or a program to train the contract personnel in inspections of the tow bars, and to monitor their inspections.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,561 hours in all; 1,111 in this make and model; 168 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 61,269 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 24, 1999; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 185,200 lb
- Seats: 160
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-15 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGA
- Destination: DCA Washington DC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 17 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 14,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:51 pm from LGA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | |||
| Passengers | 65 |
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.