Ground Tug Collides with Taxiing Aircraft on Taxiway (N40978)

Incident Sequence

A tug used to move ground carts collided with the left side of a twin-engine airplane while the airplane was taxiing on an active taxiway at night. Air traffic control (ATC) had cleared the airplane to taxi to the active runway via Delta taxiway. The collision occurred at the intersection of Delta taxiway and a service road. At the time of the collision, the tug was pulling five carts and traveling from left to right through the intersection.

Pilot and Tug Driver Reports

The pilot reported that after the collision, he saw a ground vehicle under the left engine and initially thought it was an abandoned vehicle because he did not see any lights on the vehicle. The pilot notified ATC regarding the collision and subsequently shut down the airplane. The tug driver reported that he stopped before entering the intersection and did not see any of the airplane's lights.