Southwest Airlines Flight 345
| Industry | Airline |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 15, 1967 |
| Headquarters | Dallas , United States |
| Products | Air transportation |
| Website | www |
Southwest Airlines Flight 345 operated a scheduled service from Nashville International Airport in Tennessee to LaGuardia Airport in New York City. On July 22, 2013, the Boeing 737 assigned to this flight suffered a collapse of its nose landing gear during landing at LaGuardia, resulting in injuries to nine passengers and crew. The aircraft, with an estimated value near $15.5 million, was declared a total loss and subsequently dismantled.
Accident
During the approach to runway 4, the aircraft’s nose landing gear made contact with the runway surface before the main landing gear. This premature touchdown caused the nose gear to buckle upward into the fuselage, causing extensive damage to the avionics electronics compartment. The airplane then skidded approximately along the runway on its nose, generating sparks, before halting about halfway down the strip.
As a consequence of the incident, operations involving LaGuardia’s two runways were temporarily halted until emergency response resources were fully deployed. One runway became operational again after two hours, and following clearance procedures and removal of the damaged plane, normal airport activities resumed by the following day. Evacuation efforts resulted in nine individuals suffering minor injuries, with six requiring medical attention at local hospitals.
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft involved was a 13-year-old Boeing 737-7H4, bearing registration N753SW and operated by Southwest Airlines. Its serial number was 29848 and it was line number 400. The jet first flew on October 6, 1999, and was delivered to Southwest Airlines on October 21 of that year.
The captain of Flight 345 was 49 years old with nearly 13 years of tenure at Southwest, including six years serving as captain. He had accumulated around 12,000 total flight hours, with approximately 2,600 hours logged on Boeing 737 models. The first officer was 44 years old and brought two decades of prior experience in the United States Air Force. He had been employed with Southwest for about eighteen months prior to the accident.
Investigation
On July 26, 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published preliminary results revealing that:
- The cockpit voice recorder contained two hours of audio data encompassing the entire flight.
- The flight data recorder stored 27 hours of comprehensive flight parameters for the final flight.
- Flap settings were altered from 30 degrees to 40 degrees only 56 seconds before landing.
- At an altitude of 32 feet above ground level (AGL), the aircraft initiated flare at an indicated airspeed of 134 knots but descended with a nose-down attitude upon touchdown.
- The nose gear touched down prior to the main landing gear—a landing sequence considered atypical.
No mechanical defects were identified; instead, the nose gear collapsed due to excessive stress. Investigators concentrated on the flight crew’s conduct during final approach. The captain had received several complaints from first officers regarding his performance. According to Southwest’s operations manual, any landing not correctly configured by 1,000 feet AGL should be aborted. Nevertheless, data showed flap adjustments took place at only about 500 feet AGL. Between 100 and 200 feet AGL—while still above the glide slope—the captain instructed the first officer to "get down" rather than initiate a go-around. Control was transferred back to the captain at just 27 feet AGL, three seconds before touchdown. At that moment, the aircraft descended steeply at a rate of 960 feet per minute with its nose pointed downward when the nose gear struck the runway.
The NTSB determined pilot error was responsible for this accident. The captain did not abort or assume control earlier despite clear indications at both 500 feet (incorrect flap configuration) and between 100–200 feet (excess altitude). Taking command only at such a low altitude left insufficient time to adjust energy state and avoid impact of the nose gear on landing.
Aftermath
On October 2, 2013, Southwest Airlines disclosed that the captain of Flight 345 had been dismissed, and the first officer was mandated to complete further training. The identities of both pilots were not made public.
The Boeing 737 aircraft involved, estimated to be worth around $15.5 million, was classified as a total loss due to irreparable damage. In November 2013, the plane was transported from LaGuardia Airport by barge to the Port of Albany. A salvage company dismantled the airframe in March 2014, with certain components sent to Owego for final disposal. This event represented the third hull loss recorded for a Boeing 737-700.