Delta Air Lines Flight 1086
| Industry | Airline |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 30, 1924 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia , United States |
| Products | Air transportation services |
| Website | www |
Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 was a scheduled domestic service operating between Atlanta and New York's LaGuardia Airport. On March 5, 2015, the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft departed the runway shortly after touchdown at LaGuardia. It climbed over the seawall berm, collided with the perimeter fencing, and slid roughly before halting with its nose suspended above the berm overlooking Flushing Bay. No fatalities occurred, though 29 passengers suffered minor injuries. The aircraft sustained extensive damage and was ultimately written off.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the primary cause was the pilot’s loss of directional control caused by excessive use of reverse thrust, which diminished rudder effectiveness needed to maintain proper heading.
Aircraft
The airplane involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, registered as N909DL with serial number 49540. It was manufactured in July 1987 and delivered to Delta on December 30, 1987. Prior to the incident, it had logged 71,196 flight hours and completed 54,865 cycles.
Routine maintenance inspections at intervals of 600 flight hours, 2200 flight hours, and every 760 days had been successfully completed within six months before the accident without any reported issues. The last significant maintenance took place on September 22, 2014, in Jacksonville, Florida, which included functional testing of the autobrake, anti-skid, and auto-spoiler systems. The most recent overnight service check was performed on March 2, 2015, in Tampa, Florida.
Crew
Captain Theodore W. Lauer was 56 years old and had a background as a United States Air Force pilot from 1980 to 1989 before joining Delta in August 1989. He accumulated approximately 15,200 flight hours overall, with about 11,000 hours on MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft.
First Officer David W. Phillips, aged 46, had been employed by Delta since 2007 and possessed around 11,000 total flight hours—3,000 of which were on MD-88 and MD-90 models. He previously served as a United States Navy pilot from 1991 until 2012. The identities of the flight crew were not publicly disclosed.
History of the flight
Flight 1086 took off from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 8:45 am EST with an expected arrival time at LaGuardia Airport of 10:48 am. Weather conditions at LaGuardia included falling snow accompanied by freezing fog; the captain informed passengers about potential delays due to these circumstances. Approximately three minutes prior to Flight 1086’s landing attempt, another Delta MD-88 had successfully landed on runway 13. Air traffic control relayed braking action reports from earlier arrivals indicating "good" runway conditions to Flight 1086’s pilots. Despite this information, just seconds before touchdown the crew observed that the runway appeared completely covered in snow.
Accident
The aircraft was aligned with runway 13’s centerline during a routine final approach. Autopilot remained engaged until approximately above ground level. The final approach speed was near , decreasing to at touchdown. The MD-88 touched down at approximately 11:02 am near the runway centerline. Shortly thereafter, it veered left approximately from the runway threshold and skidded across snowy terrain for about before its left wing impacted the perimeter fence. The plane continued sliding parallel to the runway for another , coming to rest about from the threshold with its nose hanging over a berm.
The collision destroyed roughly of fencing along the left wing path.
Severe structural damage was inflicted on the left wing’s leading edge components including slats, flaps, and spoilers. A breach occurred in the left wing fuel tank near the outboard flaps area. Additionally, heavy damage affected the forward radome and weather radar assembly; damage extended beneath the fuselage towards the left front passenger door area. The nose landing gear well and main electronics bay also sustained harm. Delta declared this aircraft a total loss—the incident marking it as the 37th hull loss involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series airplane.
Following impact, evacuation procedures were completed over a span exceeding seventeen minutes while fuel leakage continued. Twenty-nine passengers incurred minor injuries requiring hospital treatment; all were released within two days.
LaGuardia Airport ceased operations immediately after the accident around 11:00 am EST. An alternate runway reopened by 2:30 pm while runway 13/31 remained closed until approximately 10:30 am the following day to allow for emergency clearance and removal of the damaged aircraft.
Among those aboard was former professional football athlete Larry Donnell.
Investigation
On March 6, 2015, the NTSB announced the successful retrieval of the cockpit voice recorder, which contained two hours of clear audio capturing the entire duration of the flight. The flight data recorder, a tape-based unit with a 25-hour capacity, recorded the complete flight along with approximately 50 parameters such as airspeed, altitude, heading, engine performance, and flight control inputs. To evaluate weather's contribution to the incident, an NTSB meteorologist conducted a thorough review of the environmental conditions. Additionally, the NTSB produced a transcript from the cockpit voice recordings.
The investigation included scrutiny of the aircraft’s antiskid system, autobrake, and thrust reverser mechanisms. It was found that the autobrake selector had been set to the "max" position. The tailcone evacuation handle had been activated, resulting in detachment of the rear tailcone.
Statements from the flight crew revealed that they had relied on braking condition reports described as "good," which were provided by air traffic control based on earlier landings. Another Delta MD-88 had landed on the same runway just three minutes prior. Pilots noted that the runway appeared "all white," indicating snow coverage despite snow removal efforts completed approximately 20 to 25 minutes before touchdown. Upon landing, automatic deployment of spoilers did not occur, requiring manual activation by the first officer. Although autobrakes were engaged at "max," pilots reported no perceptible deceleration from wheel brakes. The captain indicated an inability to counteract a leftward drift.
An update issued by the NTSB on April 2, 2015, disclosed that Delta’s MD-88 pilot manuals recommended limiting reverse thrust engine pressure ratio (EPR) to 1.3 when operating on contaminated runways. However, flight data recorded an EPR value of 1.9 six seconds after touchdown. Brake pressure readings corresponded with autobrake application.
A March 9, 2015 article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted that MD-88 thrust reversers can diminish rudder effectiveness, thereby reducing directional control during landing phases.
The NTSB’s conclusive report identified the cause of the accident as the pilot’s "failure to maintain directional control due to excessive use of reverse thrust," which compromised rudder authority necessary for heading management.
Aftermath
On February 28, 2018, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey initiated legal action against Delta and Captain Lauer alleging negligence related to the accident. However, according to records from New York State Supreme Court, these charges were withdrawn by the Port Authority on March 1, 2018.