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DCA11CA036

2011-02-25 · New York, New York, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KLGA

Current FAA registration · N957UW

Make / Model
EMBRAER ERJ 190-100 IGW
Year of manufacture
2008 · 3 years old at event
Engine
GE CF34-10E6
Seats / Engines
20 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20080328
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AD507F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

Improper latching of the aft galley cart prior to landing.

Factual narrative

On February 24, 2011 at approximately 2330 eastern standard time, a passenger was seriously injured aboard an Embraer 190, U.S. registration N957UW, operated by USAirways as flight 1290 during landing on runway 22 at New York LaGuardia airport (LGA). The flight was a regularly scheduled domestic flight from Philadelphia, PA (PHL). The aircraft operated two flight segments earlier in the day without incident. Moderate turbulence was reported during final approach, and one of the flight attendants reported observing the aft beverage cart rolling forward. Upon landing during deceleration the cart traveled forward down the aisle striking a passenger's ankle in seat 11D. The B flight attendant and an onboard doctor attended to the passenger. Once at the gate, police and paramedics arrived and removed the passenger by stretcher. US Airways maintenance in LGA examined the cart brakes and the side restraint latches onboard the aircraft and found no anomalies with their operation. No previous maintenance history was found for this aircraft concerning cart restraint latches. On February 24, 2011 at approximately 2330 eastern standard time, a passenger was seriously injured aboard an Embraer 190, U.S. registration N957UW, operated by USAirways as flight 1290 during landing on runway 22 at New York LaGuardia airport (LGA). The flight was a regularly scheduled domestic flight from Philadelphia, PA (PHL). The aircraft operated two flight segments earlier in the day without incident. Moderate turbulence was reported during final approach, and one of the flight attendants reported observing the aft beverage cart rolling forward. Upon landing during deceleration the cart traveled forward down the aisle striking a passenger's ankle in seat 11D. The B flight attendant and an onboard doctor attended to the passenger. Once at the gate, police and paramedics arrived and removed the passenger by stretcher. US Airways maintenance in LGA examined the cart brakes and the side restraint latches onboard the aircraft and found no anomalies with their operation. No previous maintenance history was found for this aircraft concerning cart restraint latches. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Cabin crew - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_DCA11CA036.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (turbulence, maintenance). All research papers