Incident Overview
On November 7, 2008, at approximately 1615 mountain standard time, Southwest Airlines Flight 784, a Boeing 737-700 registered as N254WN, experienced a wing-to-wing contact with another unoccupied Boeing 737 during pushback from gate B-13 at Salt Lake City International Airport. The flight was a scheduled passenger service under 14 CFR Part 121, destined for Los Angeles, California. The airport was operating under visual meteorological conditions.
Sequence of Events
According to the operator, the collision occurred when the right winglet of N254WN struck the left winglet of a parked aircraft at gate B-15. The wing-walker responsible for monitoring the right wing of Flight 784 observed the impending contact and shouted at the tug driver to stop while simultaneously giving the standard visual stop signal by crossing his two batons. However, the tug driver did not perceive either signal.
Tug Driver Account
The tug driver reported that prior to the pushback, the tug's wheels were not aligned straight but were partially turned to one side. As a result, the nose of the aircraft moved toward the jetway instead of straight back. Instead of halting the pushback and realigning the tug, the driver attempted to maneuver the tug to clear the jetway. During this maneuver, the driver's attention was focused on the jetway, causing him to miss the wing-walker's signals.
Aftermath
No injuries were sustained by the two-person flight crew, three flight attendants, or 46 passengers. The incident led to the replacement of the right winglet of N254WN. No other damage was reported.