Incident
On July 17, 2023, at 01:15 local time, a ground accident occurred during pushback and engine start at Ben Gurion International Airport's N Apron. A Boeing 747-400F cargo aircraft, operated by Challenge Airlines (BE), was cleared to push back from parking stand 21 to engine start-up point 71. The pushback was performed using an IAI tug and a tow bar. The flight crew started the aircraft's engines during the pushback process.
Near the end of the pushback, before transitioning to towing, the tug driver needed to move to the second driver's cabin on the opposite side. During the pushback/tow, the wireless voice connection between ground personnel and the pilots was lost, unbeknownst to the pilots. When moving between cabins, only the tug's parking brake was engaged; the aircraft's brakes were not applied while its engines were starting. The tug driver noticed the aircraft pushing the tug. Braking attempts from the cabin failed. The pushback team leader attempted to stop the tug from the open driving position without success.
After losing voice communication, the team leader exited the cabin and signaled the pilots to stop the aircraft by flashing a white pocket flashlight. The pilots did not understand the blinking light signal. They identified unusual aircraft movement but did not stop, out of concern for damaging the tug beneath them, which they could not see. Relying on voice communication they thought was active, they were unaware of the lost connection.
The tug was pushed by the aircraft in a rotary motion. The tow bar shear pins broke, and the tug struck the aircraft's main undercarriage underneath the fuselage before stopping. The Boeing 747-400F moved in an uncontrolled rightward rotation, during which its left winglet struck the rudder of a parked FedEx Boeing 757-200F (registration N918FD).
Damage
No injuries to persons involved were reported. The 747-400F sustained damage to its landing gear, landing gear doors, belly, tires, and left winglet. The parked FedEx 757-200F sustained damage to its rudder. The tug was damaged beyond repair and removed from service.
Investigation Findings
The investigation, conducted by the Aircraft Safety Investigation Authority Israel (AIAI), identified the direct cause as the aircraft engines being started during pushback/towing while using a towbar tractor. Contributing operational factors included:
- Relatively light aircraft weight.
- Towing vehicle stopped with only the tug's parking brake engaged, without instructing the captain to set aircraft brakes, while engines were starting.
- Loss of two-way communication between ground and cockpit crew.
- Failure to immediately stop pushback upon communication loss.
- Attempts to stop the tug at the expense of immediate signaling to pilots.
- Use of non-standard hand signals without illuminated marshalling wands.
- Lack of ground crew skill.
- Lack of risk analysis and management for aircraft pushback.
Indirect factors contributing to the incident included:
- Lack of clear regulations for ground operations on aprons and consequent lack of regulatory oversight.
- Lack of clear definition of responsibility among involved entities (CAAI, IAA, IAI, airline).
Corrective Actions Taken
Following the investigation, stakeholders implemented several corrective actions by May 2025: Ben Gurion Airport's AIP update prohibits engine starts of wide-body aircraft on Apron N prior to reaching the final release point during pushback/tow with a tow bar. IAI ceased pushing/towing commercial aircraft for takeoff at Ben Gurion Airport. Several operators temporarily banned the use of wireless headsets in such activities. CAAI defined ground services as a national risk and began studying future regulatory activity.