What happened
The aircraft was positioned at a terminal gate, secured with chocks and connected to ground power. During the commencement of the offloading process, a ground crewmember operating a belt loader approached the C1 door of the airplane. As the vehicle neared the aircraft, it initially slowed down before suddenly accelerating forward. The belt loader struck the airplane, resulting in the driver being pinned between the seat back of the belt loader and the fuselage of the aircraft.
At the time of the accident, light rain was falling. The driver of the belt loader reported that his foot slipped from the brake pedal onto the accelerator during the approach.
The investigation
An examination of the belt loader was conducted following the collision. The inspection revealed no mechanical malfunctions with the equipment.