Boeing 737-300 accident near Newark, New Jersey, March 17, 1999
On March 17, 1999 at about 8:40 pm local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N17321, was involved in an accident near Newark, New Jersey (Newark Intl Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 108 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight attendant's failure to follow cabin door opening procedures.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 1999 · about 8:40 pm local time
- Place
- Newark, New Jersey · Newark Intl Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 108 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N17321 · registry record · serial 23372
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
+The flight attendant fell from the main cabin doorway of a Boeing 737, to the tarmac, while the airplane was parked. The airplane had been completely closed and the jetway pushed back in preparation for departure. An agent appeared at the end of the jetway, and asked if two additional passengers could board. The captain agreed to do so, and the agent proceeded back up the jetway to get the additional passengers, without moving the jetway back to the airplane. The flight attendant was advised of the situation. The captain then made a pre-departure announcement over the public address system, and when it was completed, a passenger advised him that the flight attendant had fallen from the airplane. At the time of the accident, the flight attendant had been flying with the company for 4 months. According to the airline's written procedures, the flight attendant was required to disarm, and 'crack' the cabin door, by rotating the handle enough to break the seal. The gate agent would have been responsible for actually opening the door. If the gate agent had specifically asked for assistance, then the flight attendant would have helped to open the cabin door.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,000 hours in all; 260 in this make and model; 196 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 6,500 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 44,089 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 16, 1999; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 135,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm 56-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Continental Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: EWR
- Destination: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 305° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from EWR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC99LA076.