ATL89LA172

1989-06-26 · ATLANTA, Georgia, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ATL

Aircraft involved

N7375F Boeing 737-291 Serious

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE GROUND EMPLOYEE TO FOLLOW NORMAL SAFETY PROCEDURES. HIS LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE OPERATION WAS A RELATED FACTOR.

Factual narrative

JUST AS THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING STOPPED ON CONCOURSE 'C' TO DEPLANE PASSENGERS, A GROUND EMPLOYEE WALKED BEHIND THE #2 ENGINE TO CHOCK THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR. AS HE WENT BEHIND THE ENGINE, THE JET BLAST (EXHAUST) HURLED HIM ABOUT FIVE FEET TO THE GROUND. THE EMPLOYEE SUSTAINED A BROKEN JAW AND SEVERAL BRUISES AND LACERATIONS. HE HAD BEEN HIRED ON 6/9/89 (17 DAYS BEFORE THE ACDNT). ACCORDING TO HIS TRAINING RECORD, HE HAD RECEIVED TRAINING IN RAMP SAFETY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL89LA172.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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