Event Details


Title:Flight attendant killed by galley lift, World Airways Inc., Flight 32, McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF, N112WA, Over North Atlantic Ocean, September 20, 1981
Micro summary:A flight attendant was killed by a galley elevator on this McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF.
Event Time:1981-09-20 at 0245 GMT
File Name:1981-09-20-US.pdf
Publishing Agency:National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Publishing Country:USA
Report number:NTSB-AAR-82-1
Pages:56
Site of event:North Atlantic
Latitude/Longitude:N50°30' W 25°00'
Departure:Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Maryland, USA
Destination:Gatwick Airport, London, England
Airplane Type(s):McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF
Flight Phase:Cruise
Registration(s):N112WA
Operator(s):World Airways
Type of flight:Revenue
Occupants:346
Fatalities:1
Serious Injuries:0
Minor/Non-Injured:345
Other Injuries:0
Executive Summary:About 0245 G.m.t. on September 20, 1981, a flight attendant on board World Airways Flight 32, a DC-10-30CF, was fatally injured as a result of being trapped between a service cart in the galley personnel lift and the ceiling of the lower galley as the lift raised. There were 331 revenue passengers, 1 non-revenue passenger, and 14 crewmembers on board. No other crewmembers or passengers were injured. The flight landed at London Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom at 0555 G.m.t.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the malfunction of the galley personnel lift system door electrical interlock switches which permitted the galley personnel lift to rise with the door in the lower galley in the open position. Contributing to the accident was the design of the interlock switch system, the design of the galley lift service cart retention and release system, and the inadequate preflight inspection program for the galley lift system.
Learning Keywords:Systems - Galley Equipment
Other - Certification
Consequence - Flight Attendant Fatality - Injury
Close match:Galley elevator injury, Lockheed L-1011-385-1, June 26, 1997

 




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