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DCA17CA072

2017-02-11 · Phoenix, Arizona, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PHX

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the catering agent's lack of situational awareness when exiting the airplane that resulted in a serious injury.

Factual narrative

On February 11, 2017, about 1950 mountain standard time, Southwest Airlines flight 4152, a Boeing 737-700, N7822A, had a catering agent fall from the airplane while alongside provisioning the airplane. On board were the captain, first officer, three flight attendants and several passengers. The regularly scheduled passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California. According to Southwest Airlines, while passengers were boarding the airplane at the gate, a catering agent returned to the airplane to provide a box of peanuts. The agent stopped the provisioning truck short of the airplane creating a gap between the truck and the airplane. After entering the airplane to deliver the peanuts, the agent lost situational awareness and stepped backwards, falling through the gap, and suffered a fractured rib. On February 11, 2017, about 1950 mountain standard time, Southwest Airlines flight 4152, a Boeing 737-700, N7822A, had a catering agent fall from the airplane while alongside provisioning the airplane. On board were the captain, first officer, three flight attendants and several passengers. The regularly scheduled passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California. According to Southwest Airlines, while passengers were boarding the airplane at the gate, a catering agent returned to the airplane to provide a box of peanuts. The agent stopped the provisioning truck short of the airplane creating a gap between the truck and the airplane. After entering the airplane to deliver the peanuts, the agent lost situational awareness and stepped backwards, falling through the gap, and suffered a fractured rib. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-(general)-Ground crew - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_DCA17CA072.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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