Incident Overview
On the morning of 19 September 2023, at 07:26 UTC, a collision occurred between two aircraft on the SOUTH taxiway at Palma de Mallorca Airport (Balearic Islands, Spain). The aircraft involved were a Boeing 737-800 operated by Air Europa, registration EC-MJU, and a Boeing 757-300 operated by Condor, registration D-ABOJ. The incident took place in daylight and under maximum visibility conditions. No injuries were reported among the 6 crew and 108 passengers on board the Air Europa aircraft, nor among the 8 crew and 268 passengers on the Condor aircraft.
Sequence of Events
Flight EC-MJU had landed on runway 06L and was cleared to taxi to parking stand 96 via Gate P. To reach the gate, it first proceeded along LINK taxiway and then onto SOUTH, a taxiway parallel to the departure runway. Flight D-ABOJ, an outbound aircraft, taxied from stand 54 toward the holding point for runway 06R after receiving clearance to use SOUTH and exit through Gate K.
At 07:23, both aircraft met at Gate K, where EC-MJU was instructed to give way to D-ABOJ. EC-MJU then followed D-ABOJ for three minutes along SOUTH toward Gate P. During this taxi, the controller informed that a bird strike event involving previous traffic had caused a non-scheduled partial review of runway 06R, halting take-off operations. Consequently, a queue of five aircraft formed ahead of D-ABOJ: one at the runway head, two at holding points H6 and H7, and two at the end of SOUTH. D-ABOJ proceeded until it stopped at an appropriate distance behind the preceding aircraft, unintentionally blocking Gate P.
EC-MJU, with instructions to exit through Gate P, attempted to continue the entry manoeuvre by deviating to the right of the taxiway centreline. During this manoeuvre, the left winglet of EC-MJU struck the right horizontal stabiliser of D-ABOJ, which had been stationary for 17 seconds. The impact occurred at 07:26:43 and was immediately detected by a jolt in both aircraft. EC-MJU stopped, and operations of both aircraft were suspended.
Damage and Response
The collision caused damage to the left wing tip of EC-MJU and the right horizontal stabiliser of D-ABOJ. Emergency services arrived and assessed the damage. Both aircraft were towed to stands 96 and 153, respectively, where passengers disembarked without incident. The area became fully operational one hour later.
Investigation Findings
The investigation ruled out any environmental factors or time pressures affecting the crew of EC-MJU. It also found no contribution from air traffic control or actions taken by D-ABOJ. The probable cause was determined as a lack of adherence to taxi procedures, specifically the crew's failure to correctly assess the available space at Gate P, leading EC-MJU to attempt entry while the gate was blocked. No safety recommendations were issued.