Boeing 737-700 incident near Salt Lake City, Utah, November 7, 2008
On November 7, 2008 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Boeing 737-700, registered N254WN, suffered minor damage in an incident during pushback/towing near Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City Int. airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 51 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The tug driver's failure to maintain situational awareness during the push back operation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 7, 2008 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Salt Lake City, Utah · Salt Lake City Int. · map
- Type
- Incident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 51 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-700 · all 737-700s on the register
- Registration
- N254WN · registry record · serial 32512
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a push back from a jetway, the airplane's winglet collided with the winglet of an unoccupied airplane parked at the adjacent gate. Prior to the push back, the wheels of the tug were not aligned straight ahead, but were instead turned partially to one side. Therefore as the push back was initiated, the nose of the airplane moved toward the jetway instead of going straight back. At that point, instead of terminating the push back and realigning the tug, the tug driver attempted to maneuver the tug in a manner that would result in the nose of the airplane clearing the jetway. During this attempt, the tug driver's attention became focused upon the jetway, and he therefore did not see or hear the visual and oral warning signals being given by the wing-walker.
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
What happened, in order
- Ground collision during pushback/towing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Task monitoring/vigilance › Ground crew
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusio › Situational awareness › Ground crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,074 hours in all; 8,400 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 12, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,800 hours in all; 2,250 in this make and model; 215 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 1, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Crew member
No details recorded.
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,595 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 14, 2008
- Maximum gross weight: 154,500 lb
- Seats: 137
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International CFM56 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International CFM56 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Southwest Airlines CO
The flight
- Departed from: KSLC Salt Lake City UT
- Destination: KLAX Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,100 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.38 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 3 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 46 |
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 N254WN the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 WPR09IA033.