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DCA22LA015

2021-10-23 · Miami, Florida, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MIA

Current FAA registration · N252NN

Make / Model
EMBRAER S A ERJ 170-200 LR
Year of manufacture
2017 · 4 years old at event
Engine
GE CF34-8E5
Seats / Engines
88 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20170324
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A26025

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

An abrupt jerk of the airplane as the captain applied the parking brake during the tow that caused a flight attendant to fall and break her wrist.

Factual narrative

Envoy flight 4265 experienced a jolt during pushback and a flight attendant broke a wrist. According to the captain, after the “Before Start Checklist” was completed, the flightcrew was connected to the ground crew push-tug operator for push-back via the interphone. The push-tug operator informed him that he was ready for the captain to release the parking brake, and upon the captain doing so, the push began. During the final push, when the airplane transitioned from reverse to forward, the captain said that the communications connection with the ground crew deteriorated, and he believed he heard the push-tug operator say “set parking brake”, when actually the push-tug operator was directing the flight crew to start engines. The captain said that as a result he applied the parking brake while the tug operator was pulling the airplane forward, which resulted in a sudden jerk. The captain also said that the push-tug operator was difficult to understand because of his accent, which combined with the faulty interphone connection, resulted in the miscommunication. At the time of the event, two flight attendants (FA) were in the aisle performing the passenger safety demonstration. No. 1 FA was thrown against seat 4D, and No. 2 FA was thrown to the floor, hitting her head, back, and wrist, and was unable to stand. The airplane was towed back to the gate, and the No. 2 FA was taken to a local hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Communication (personnel)-Language/accent-Ground crew
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Communication (personnel)-Interpretation/understanding-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Communications system-Interphone-Malfunction

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_DCA22LA015.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.