Incident Overview
On May 9, 2016, an incident occurred at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA) involving a De Havilland Dash 8 (400) aircraft and a ground service vehicle. The aircraft was taxiing to parking stand 41 when the driver of the vehicle, traveling along the service road parallel to taxiway M, caused the aircraft to stop. The driver held valid privileges to operate vehicles on the apron.
Circumstances
The vehicle was moving ahead of the aircraft along the service road near parking stands 30 to 40. As the aircraft approached the turn to stand 41, the distance between the vehicle and the aircraft decreased significantly, prompting the flight crew to stop before entering the stand. Analysis of surveillance camera footage and the driver's statement confirmed that the vehicle was in front of the aircraft but at a reducing distance.
A contributing circumstance was ongoing maintenance activities on parking stand 42, which may have obscured the driver's view of the Follow Me vehicle at stand 41. This situation indicated preparations for the aircraft to taxi to that stand. The report noted that similar occurrences at stands 31B to 45 and 10 to 24 are often due to difficulty in observing taxiing aircraft from taxiway M because of a lack of clear indications of the intended parking stand.
Cause
The direct cause of the incident was human error: the driver misjudged the distance from the taxiing aircraft. The driver's assessment of the situation regarding the separation from the aircraft was incorrect.
Preventive Actions
Following the incident, the driver participated in a discussion with management, and the event was reviewed with all personnel. As a result, the driver lost apron driving privileges and was scheduled for additional training, to be concluded with an examination. No safety recommendations were issued by the investigating commission.