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VIDEO: Southwest Airlines 737 Nose Gear Collapse at Pushback

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On August 4, 2016 at 9:02pm eastern daylight time, Southwest Airlines flight 149, a Boeing 737, N368SW, experienced a failure of its nose landing gear during pushback from the gate at the Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland. The aircraft was substantially damaged and there were no injuries to the 6 crewmembers or 129 passengers aboard. The flight was being operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger… (www.youtube.com) More...

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MikeMohle
Mike Mohle 4
That tug driver was going about as fast as the SWA guys when taxiing around at MDW (i.e., approaching rotation speed). LOL
TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 4
The brakes on the tug came on twice before the collapse, and the aircraft was moving at a high speed. Given the mass of of the loaded aircraft and a sudden tug (no pun intended) on the nose gear, it seems to have just folded. The tug driver's statement indicates that he struggled to bring the speed under control, and you can see the tug and aircraft jerk on the second application of the brakes.

How much force is the nose gear expected to handle in that direction? During deceleration and braking after a landing, the forces on the nose gear are in the extending direction -- during this incident the force acted in the opposite (retracting) direction.
bartmiller
bartmiller 2
Agreed.
30west
30west 2
Roy and Bart, At the point in the video when it happens it looks like the jet roll a bit to the left suggesting a MLG collapse. Checkout the video at about the :47 seconds point and beyond, you can it was in fact the NG that collapsed.
AZAFVET
Wayne Fox 1
Question to Tug driver "Wanna get away?" In 1967, I was aboard a Navy P2 Neptune ASW aircraft that stopped to pick me at Wheelus AB. It had pulled into a wash bay but when it was time to leave. there was no suitable tug to push back. Also the plane blew a seal in the nose gear which the crew chief repaired well enough for one take off and one landing. The pilots used the prop engines in reverse prop mode to back us out. Interesting at the time.
talbotent
Roy Talbot -1
Looks more like main landing gear
nasdisco
Chris B 0
Not the first 737 front landing gear collapse. One affected another SWA 737 in 2013.

Have to wonder if NHTSB ever looks for dots to connect...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_Flight_345

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