Boeing 737-3TO incident near Newark, New Jersey, November 6, 1998
On November 6, 1998 at about 11:20 pm local time, a Boeing 737-3TO, registered N12318, suffered minor damage in an incident near Newark, New Jersey (Newark Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 110 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of torque on the apex nut of the shimmy damper for undetermined reason(s), which resulted in a failure of the shimmy damper, and the subsequent failure of the lower torsion link of the right main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 1998 · about 11:20 pm local time
- Place
- Newark, New Jersey · Newark Intl
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 110 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3TO · all 737-3TOs on the register
- Registration
- N12318 · no longer on the register · serial 23369
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Boeing 737-300 touched down under the control of the first officer, and the pilots felt a vibration or shimmy. The captain reported that he took control of the airplane, and stopped it on the runway. Examination disclosed that the lower torsion link on the right main landing gear had failed, and the wheels had rotated 45 degrees outboard. Metallurgical examination of the failed torsion link revealed it had failed in overstress. According to a Boeing 737 Service Letter, this had happened before and was traced to excessive play at the torsion link apex joint, which rendered the shimmy dampers ineffective. The shaft on the shimmy damper was bent about 20 degrees rearward, and the apex nut which held the upper and lower torsion links together was loose on the shaft. The damage precluded a check of the apex nut for proper torque.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,000 hours in all; 8,800 in this make and model; 274 in the last 90 days; 83 in the last 30 days; 14,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 40,059 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 4, 1998; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 132
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM 56-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Air Lines
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ at 7:05 pm
- Destination: EWR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4R, 9,300 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 350° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 pm from EWR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 104 |
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 N12318 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.