NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DCA22LA201
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
Southwest Airlines flight crew’s misjudgment of the distance required to safely pass the American Airlines airplane.
Factual narrative
After landing on runway 27R at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Southwest Airlines B737 flight 2659 (SWA2659) was cleared by ground control to taxi to gate M-14 via taxiways Z, D, TT, A, A-19. As they proceeded down taxiway A, both pilots observed an American Airlines B737 (AA1121) holding short of taxiway A-19. The pilots of SWA2659 asked ground control for permission to utilize taxiway A-20 instead and were granted permission. The captain said that as he tried to pass AA1121, he stayed left of centerline to ensure wingtip clearance. The first officer was looking out the window and informed the captain that their airplane’s wingtip was clear. However, their right winglet impacted the left elevator of AA1121. AA1121 was stationary on taxiway A and holding short of taxiway A-19 with the parking brake set, awaiting entry to gate K-20, when it was impacted by SWA2659. Figure 1. Depiction of SWA2659 taxi route and area of occurrence (Adapted from Google Earth) Post-event examination of both airplanes revealed that the right winglet of SWA2659 was damaged and sheared off by the impact and the left elevator of AA1121 was substantially damaged. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Aircraft-Effect on equipment
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-(general)-Pilot of other aircraft
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2022_DCA22LA201.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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