Skip to content

LAX90LA021

1989-11-06 · PHOENIX, Arizona, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PHX

N902AW has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (DJI AGRAS T50), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE GROUND HANDLER IMPROPERLY CROSSING UNDER THE AIRCRAFT WHILE IT WAS MOVING.

Factual narrative

DURING PUSHBACK THE GROUND HANDLER WALKED UNDER THE FUSELAGE IN A DIRECT LINE WITH THE NOSE GEAR. WHILE CROSSING UNDER THE FUSELAGE HE STUMBLED. THE TUG OPERATOR APPLIED EMERGENCY BRAKES BUT THE MOMENTUM OF THE MOVING AIRCRAFT CARRIED THE NOSE GEAR WHEELS OVER THE GROUND HANDLER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX90LA021.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.