What happened
During a period of heavy snowfall and reduced visibility, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was being pushed back from its gate. Prior to the movement, the ATCT ground controller instructed the pilot to remain clear of taxiway Kilo. The captain relayed these instructions to the tug driver, who acknowledged them.
As the pushback progressed, the tug driver observed a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 moving westbound on taxiway Kilo, positioned behind the tail of the MD-82. The driver halted the pushback. A ground-marshaling attendant moved toward the rear of the MD-82 to monitor clearance between the aircraft's tail and the right wing of the MD-11. The tug driver reported receiving signals via a red flashlight wand to move the MD-82 away from taxiway Kilo and toward the gate. Shortly after these instructions, the right wing of the taxiing MD-11 struck the tail of the MD-82.
The captain of the MD-11 reported that he was taxiing slowly along the green centerline lights, which were visible through the snow accumulation. To assist with clearance monitoring, the relief captain and a first officer stood up to look out the right side window; however, heavy snow on the window limited their visibility. The crew then focused on the MD-82 ground staff but reported seeing no emergency stop signals. The collision occurred when the right winglet of the MD-11 struck the upper portion of the MD-82's rudder assembly.
At the time, a Douglas DC-8 was also taxiing behind the MD-11. The crew of the DC-8 noted that visibility was significantly reduced by heavy snow and blowing snow from the MD-11's jet blast.
Findings
- The airport ramp area contained approximately 8 inches of loose snow.
- The ground-marshaling attendant for the MD-82 confirmed he did not attempt to provide an emergency stop signal to the MD-11 crew prior to the collision.