Incident Overview
On April 28, 2016, at about 2252 Pacific daylight time, SkyWest Airlines flight 5260, a Canadair CRJ-200 (registration N961SW), was struck by a Boeing 777 that was being repositioned under tow at San Francisco International Airport (KSFO), San Francisco, California. The CRJ-200 had just been pushed back from the gate and was awaiting taxi clearance with engines operating and the parking brake set. The Boeing 777 was being towed by maintenance personnel. There were no injuries, and both airplanes received substantial damage. The CRJ-200 was operating a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from KSFO to Meadows Field Airport (KBFL), Bakersfield, California.
Sequence of Events
According to the investigation, the tug driver pushing the Boeing 777 stated that he saw wing walkers on both sides and began to push back. He reported that he never saw any signal from the wing walker's signal wands indicating a stop. The left wing walker stated that the tow driver started pushing the Boeing 777 in reverse before asking if he and the other walkers were ready, describing that the airplane "was halfway out of the gate before I could react." The left wing walker further stated that, after the airplane entered the roadway, he noticed that the tug driver was not slowing down as he approached the SkyWest CRJ-200. The left wing walker made an "X" with his signal wands and then started jumping up and down and moving to a better location to be seen.
Damage
The Boeing 777's lower left fuselage contacted the right stabilizer of N961SW, resulting in substantial damage to the stabilizer and right elevator. Both aircraft sustained substantial damage as a result of the collision.