NTSB ERA11CA046 — 2010-11-02 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Current FAA registration · N454SW

Make / Model: BOMBARDIER INC CL-600-2B19
Year of manufacture: 2003 · 7 years old at event
Engine: GE CF34 SERIES
Seats / Engines: 55 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 20030131
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A5829D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N454SW BOMBARDIER INC CL-600-2B19 None

Probable cause & findings

The ground crew’s failure to detach the air-starter hose from the airplane before moving the cart away resulting in structural damage to a skin panel.

Factual narrative

According to the operator, the airplane was parked at the gate preparing to push back for a revenue flight when the damage occurred. A ground crew worker had connected an air-starter cart to the airplane, and then determined that it was not functioning properly. The worker attempted to pull the cart away from the airplane without disconnecting the hose, resulting in substantial damage to the skin panels on the left, lower side of the airplane's fuselage. According to the operator, the airplane was parked at the gate preparing to be pushed back when the damage occurred. A ground crew worker had connected an air-starter cart to the airplane, and then determined that the air cart was not functioning properly. The worker attempted to pull the cart away from the airplane without disconnecting the hose, resulting in substantial damage to the skin panels on the left, lower side of the airplane's fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

C Personnel issues-Physical-(general)-(general)-Ground crew - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_ERA11CA046.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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