What happened
United Express operates out of a portion of the United Airlines maintenance ramp that serves as a commuter terminal. Following the loading of passengers for a scheduled flight, an Embraer aircraft began taxiing on the maintenance ramp toward a taxiway leading to its assigned departure runway.
To ensure clearance from parked aircraft, United had established a specific taxi lane within the maintenance area, marked by a yellow guidance line. However, the captain of the Embraer elected to deviate from this designated path. In an effort to avoid a possible departure delay, the pilot chose to taxi directly across a non-movement aircraft parking area rather than following the yellow guidance line.
During this maneuver, there was insufficient clearance between the moving aircraft and the stationary aircraft in the parking area. The vertical stabilizer of the Embraer struck the horizontal stabilizer of a parked Boeing 767-222.