ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas MD-88 N977DL Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA (ATL)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Thursday 4 April 2019
Time:20:17
Type:Silhouette image of generic MD88 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
McDonnell Douglas MD-88
Operator:Delta Air Lines
Registration: N977DL
MSN: 53258/1848
First flight: 1991
Total airframe hrs:72944
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA (ATL) (   United States of America)
Phase: Taxi (TXI)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Syracuse-Hancock International Airport, NY (SYR/KSYR), United States of America
Destination airport:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA (ATL/KATL), United States of America
Flightnumber:DL1276
Narrative:
Delta Airlines Flight 1276, was struck by a tug while taxing. The tug driver received minor injures.
Night visual conditions with light rain prevailed at the time of the accident.
The captain reported that after landing at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, ATC cleared the flight to enter the Ramp 2 east taxi lane and taxi to gate B14. The captain indicated that as they began to turn right into the ramp, Ramp Control instructed flight 1276 to give way to opposite direction traffic. As the captain was looking forward to identify the traffic, the first officer called out, "Stop, Stop, Stop!" The captain immediately applied full brakes. The flight crew then heard and felt an impact coming from the right side of the forward fuselage.
The pilots notified ramp control and held position. Ground support personnel arrived quickly to assist. The ground personnel told the pilot via inter-phone that a tug and baggage cart had impacted the fuselage and was against the nose gear. Ground personnel reported to the crew that the tug driver was OK but that he did not know where he was or how he got there.

Probable Cause:

Probable cause: "Failure of the tug driver to give way to the taxiing airplane."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year
Accident number: DCA19CA146
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Collision with airport equipment
Damaged on the ground

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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Syracuse-Hancock International Airport, NY to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, GA as the crow flies is 1268 km (793 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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MD-80

  • 1194 built
  • 45th loss
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