NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA11CA046
Registry · N454SW
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
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
Registrant of record
SKYWEST AIRLINES INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
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
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or 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 ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.