Incident Involving an A320-214 at Warsaw Chopin Airport

Incident Overview and Location On 27 February 2017, an incident occurred at Warsaw Chopin Airport (AD EPWA) involving an Airbus A320-214. The event was classified as an incident by the State Commission for Aviation Accident Investigation (PAŃSTWOWA KOMISJA BADANIA WYPADKÓW LOTNICZYCH), with the investigation supervised by Grzegorz Dańko and concluded on 18 April 2017. ## Sequence of Events During taxiing on taxiway M3, the aircraft was approaching a parking stand. A belt loader operating on the service road between stands 15 and 16 failed to yield the right of way to the taxiing aircraft. The vehicle turned left onto the service road in front of stand 16 and stopped in a position that obstructed the aircraft's path. As a result, the captain of the A320-214 was forced to interrupt taxiing. After the vehicle was withdrawn, the aircraft safely continued taxiing to its parking stand. ## Weather Conditions The METAR at the time was 271100Z 19007KT CAVOK 10/01 Q1012 NOSIG. No weather warnings or advisories were issued by the airport operator, and weather conditions had no influence on the incident. ## Investigation Findings Based on CCTV footage, the commission determined that the belt loader driver did not comply with the applicable provisions of the Warsaw Chopin Airport Operational Instruction. Specifically, section 16.10.1 prohibits cutting across or occupying the path of a taxiing or towed aircraft if it could cause the aircraft to change direction and/or speed. The driver's failure to adhere to this rule was identified as the cause of the incident. ## Preventive Actions The investigating entity, State Enterprise 'Porty Lotnicze', took the following preventive measures: 1. The driver's permit to operate vehicles on the airport premises was suspended, and the individual was required to undergo retraining and examination. 2. An analysis was conducted regarding the possibility of changing the horizontal marking of the service road between stands 15 and 16 to alert vehicle drivers to the potential for aircraft taxiing to adjacent stands. The commission did not issue any safety recommendations.