Investigation Summary
The approach to LaGuardia's Runway 4 was marked by several deviations from standard operating procedures. Although a 40 degree flap setting was briefed, the crew reached the final approach fix with flaps at 30 degrees. The captain, acting as pilot monitoring, noticed the error and manually set the flaps to 40 degrees at 500 feet, violating the airline's requirement to be in the landing configuration by 1,000 feet. As the aircraft descended, it remained above the glideslope. Instead of calling for a go-around, the captain repeatedly commanded the first officer to 'get down.' At 27 feet above the runway, the captain took control, but the late transfer resulted in a neutral control column position and a nose-down pitch trend. The aircraft impacted the runway nose-first at a descent rate of 960 feet per minute. The nose gear fractured and penetrated the avionics bay, and the aircraft skidded 2,500 feet from the point of initial touchdown, coming to a stop 3,600 feet from the runway threshold.
Final Conclusions
The NTSB concluded that the accident was caused by the captain's attempt to recover from an unstabilized approach by transferring control at low altitude instead of performing a go-around. Contributing factors included the captain's failure to comply with standard operating procedures and poor crew resource management. The captain was subsequently fired by Southwest Airlines, and the aircraft was written off due to substantial structural damage.
Video Analysis
Unbalanced Pitch | Southwest Airlines Flight 345 — A detailed look at the landing gear collapse of Southwest Flight 345 at LaGuardia Airport, focusing on the crew's failure to follow stabilized approach criteria.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
2,659 hours as captain on type.
First Officer
Systems & Failure Modes
Nose Landing Gear
The nose gear suffered an overstress fracture when it contacted the runway before the main gear, causing it to collapse into the fuselage.
Flaps
The crew failed to configure the flaps to the briefed 40 degree setting by the mandatory 1,000-foot stabilized approach gate.
Heads Up Display (HUD)
The captain used the HUD during the approach to monitor wind and groundspeed but failed to use it to recognize the need for a go-around.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft struck the runway nose-first, which is the opposite of the normal landing sequence.
- 02Southwest Airlines fired the captain and required the first officer to undergo additional training following the accident.
- 03The nose landing gear collapsed upward and penetrated the electronics equipment bay.
- 04The captain had previously received refresher CRM training in 2010 following complaints from other first officers.
- 05The aircraft was determined to be a total loss and was eventually scrapped.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Personnel Action
Source ↗Southwest Airlines terminated the captain's employment and mandated additional training for the first officer following the NTSB's findings of procedural violations and poor CRM.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Evacuation Delays and Crew Conduct
Reference ↗Following the accident, passengers reported that the flight crew failed to make announcements and appeared to forget emergency protocols. Complaints included being kept on board for approximately 20 minutes while smoke entered the cabin before the evacuation was initiated, and a perceived lack of immediate emergency responders at the scene.