On January 18, 1991, a British Aerospace 146-200 (registration N608AW) operated by Air Wisconsin was involved in an aviation accident near Chicago, IL. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: COMPANY PROCEDURES AND DIRECTIVES NOT BEING FOLLOWED BY GROUND PERSONNEL. A FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT IS COMPLACENCY BY COMPANY/OPERATOR MANAGEMENT. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 6 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A transport airplane collided with a parked transport airplane while taxiing from a gate. Both aircraft sustained minor damage. Investigation revealed routine ground guiding to a left-displaced parking spot caused inadequate tail clearance when adjacent space occupied by longer aircraft.
Incident Details
A transport airplane collided with another parked transport airplane while taxiing away from a gate at the start of a revenue flight. Both airplanes sustained minor damage. The pilot stopped the airplane and shut it down. The passengers and crew deplaned using the normal cabin exits.
Investigation Findings
The investigation revealed that signalmen and wingwalkers were routinely ground guiding aircraft at that parking location to a parking spot that was displaced to the left of the painted taxi guide stripes. This practice allowed the tail of a departing airplane to transcribe an arc which passes through an adjacent dedicated parking space as it turns away from the gate. When this space is occupied by a longer airplane, there is insufficient clearance to allow the tail surfaces of the two aircraft to clear each other. According to ramp personnel, an emergency stop hand signal was issued by the wingwalker but was not recognized in time to stop the incident.
