Boeing 727 accident near Sterling, Virginia, May 28, 1999
On May 28, 1999 at about 7:10 pm local time, a Boeing 727, registered N282SC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sterling, Virginia (Washington Dulles airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 90 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Inadequate visual lookout by the tug operator. A factor in this accident was inadequate pushback procedures by the airline which failed to provide proper assistance (wing walkers) to the tug operator.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 28, 1999 · about 7:10 pm local time
- Place
- Sterling, Virginia · Washington Dulles · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 90 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727 · all 727s on the register
- Registration
- N282SC · registry record · serial 22558
- 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 Boeing 727 was being pushed back by one person, who operated the pushback tug. The tug operator waited for an Airbus to approach the gate next to the pushback airplane and then began the pushback procedure. A catering truck was stopped behind the left wing of the 727, while the truck's driver waited for the Airbus to shut down it's engines. The catering truck driver stated, 'My partner yelled, 'He's moving or something' and instantly I tried to accelerate, but at the same time we were struck on the side and we were turning over...' Ramp personnel in the area observed the airplane heading towards the parked catering truck, and attempted to alert the tug operator. The Boeing 727's left wing struck the aft section of the catering truck. The airplane's left aileron and left wing tip were damaged. The distance from the airplane's left wingtip when parked at the gate, to the north edge of the service road where the catering truck was stopped, was about 75 feet.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 6,508 in this make and model; 214 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 5,475 as pilot in command; 280 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 43,670 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 28, 1999; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 190,500 lb
- Seats: 180
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sun Country Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: IAD
- Destination: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from IAD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 83 |
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 N282SC 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.