Incident Overview
On 4 November 2016, at 17:45 local time, an Air Serbia Airbus A319-132, registration YU-APA, was involved in a ground incident at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport. The aircraft was parked and preparing for scheduled passenger flight JU404 from Belgrade to Copenhagen. During ground handling, a baggage elevator tractor (type AVIOGEI NS 450) impacted the No. 2 engine intake cowl, causing minor damage.
Sequence of Events
According to the investigation, the incident occurred as follows:
- The tractor driver started the vehicle, lowered the baggage loading belt, and turned the front wheels to the left.
- While reversing slowly away from the aircraft, the driver then turned the front wheels to the right to adjust the path.
- This caused the tractor's left front mirror bracket to strike the No. 2 engine intake cowl.
- The contact resulted in scratching of the upper hinge of the mirror bracket and transfer of paint to the cowling.
Damage and Injuries
The aircraft sustained minor damage: a scratch on the No. 2 (right) engine intake cowl. No injuries were reported among crew or passengers. There were no fatalities. The flight was eventually operated by a different aircraft with a slight delay.
Probable Cause
Unintentionally, the baggage tractor driver made an excessive correction of the front wheels while reversing, causing the left front mirror bracket to contact the No. 2 engine intake cowl.