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Atlas / NTSB / MIA89FA194

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event MIA89FA194

1989-07-12 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Airport · SJU Fatal 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE RAMP GUIDE (GROUND PERSONNEL) TO FOLLOW NORMAL SAFETY PROCEDURES. HIS OVER CONFIDENCE IN HIS PERSONAL ABILITY WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.

Factual narrative

THE AIRBUS A300 (AMERICAN FLT 699) WAS BEING PUSHED BACK BY A RAMP CREW IN PREPARATION FOR A SCHEDULED INTL PASSENGER FLT. WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY OBSERVED THE RAMP GUIDE (WHO WAS USING THE GROUND-TO-COCKPIT MICROPHONE) WALK BEHIND THE NOSE GEAR AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE THE ACDNT OCCURRED. SUBSEQUENTLY, AS HE WAS WALKING BEHIND THE NOSE GEAR AGAIN, HE STUMBLED & THE NOSE GEAR TIRES ROLLED OVER HIS UPPER BODY, WHICH RESULTED IN CRUSHING THORACIC INJURIES. RECORDS SHOWED THAT THE RAMP GUIDE HAD RCVD SAFETY TRAINING & WAS QUALIFIED FOR THE DUTIES THAT HE WAS PERFORMING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MIA89FA194.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.