Departed With the Tow Bar Still On: The Diversion to Wiley Post

A twin-engine aircraft took off from an Oklahoma airport with its tow bar still locked onto the nose wheel — a pre-flight inspection item everyone learns and everyone occasionally forgets — and diverted for a careful, precautionary landing once the crew realized it.

Discovered After Departure

A tow bar is exactly what it sounds like: a handle-and-hitch device used to push or pull an aircraft by its nose wheel on the ground, meant to be disconnected and stowed well before engine start. Somewhere in this flight's pre-departure routine, it wasn't. The aircraft departed Sundance Airport in Oklahoma bound for Texas with the bar still attached, and the crew discovered the problem only after they were airborne.

Circling Before Committing to Land

Rather than land immediately at the nearest field, the pilot diverted to Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City and circled before committing to a landing — the kind of deliberate pause that lets a crew (and often, tower personnel who can look at the gear from the ground) assess how a device attached to the nose wheel might behave under landing loads before finding out at touchdown.

A Clean Landing

The aircraft landed safely, with no injuries and no significant damage reported. A tow bar still attached at landing carries some risk of interfering with the nose gear's ability to roll or steer normally, but in this case the landing went off without complication.

This reconstruction was researched from official investigation records where they exist, the original air traffic control recording, and contemporary reporting. The aircraft movement, timeline and written account were assembled independently by Flight Follower. Where an investigation is open or no probable cause has been published, the account says so rather than offering one.

Timeline

Accident Facts

Sources

• Account built from the original ATC recording. No independent news coverage of this specific event was located — a minor, no-injury GA incident of the kind that doesn't always make local news.