NTSB: Capt took command before NY landing accident
NEW YORK (AP) – The National Transportation Safety Board says the captain of a Southwest Airlines plane that landed on a collapsing nose gear at New York’s LaGuardia Airport took control from the first officer 400 feet from the ground.
Sixteen people were injured in the July 22 hard landing.
The NTSB says the captain was monitoring the landing and suddenly took over from the plane’s first officer.
The officer has been with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Inc. for a year and half, the captain for more than a dozen years. The flight from Nashville, Tenn., was their first trip together.
Investigators haven’t found any mechanical problems or malfunctions. A preliminary examination of the nose gear indicates it failed due to stress overload.
Southwest said last month a nose-pointed-down landing described by investigators violated its normal procedures.
The investigation continues.
