What happened
On 30 April 2019, during a positioning flight at East Midlands Airport, a Boeing 737-73S, registration EI-SEV, collided with a parked Boeing 737-33A, registration G-GDFB. The incident occurred while the aircraft was taxiing to Stand 22 under Low Visibility Procedures (LVPs), with the runway visual range measured between 300 and 325 metres.
As the crew of EI-SEV taxied behind the stationary G-GDFB on Stand 24, the aircraft's right winglet struck the right horizontal stabiliser of the parked plane. The crew noted the space appeared tight but believed they could pass safely by following the taxiway centreline. The collision resulted in a partially detached right winglet on EI-SEV and damage to the underside of the horizontal stabiliser on G-GDFB. There were no injuries to the two crew members on board EI-SEV.
The investigation
The AAIB investigation established that air traffic controllers were unaware that Stand 24 was occupied. Due to the heavy fog, the aircraft was not visible from the control tower, and the airport's Surface Movement Radar (SMR) failed to display the stationary aircraft, as the system was not designed to track non-moving targets.
Investigators also found that the aircraft parked on the stand was a shorter model than the standard stop lines intended for the area. While the crew of EI-SEV was accurately following the taxiway markings, the lack of published warnings regarding reduced clearance on these specific stands contributed to the error. Furthermore, the investigation noted the inherent difficulty for pilots to visually judge precise separation distances between wingtips and tail surfaces at close range.
Findings
- Poor visibility and radar limitations prevented air traffic controllers from identifying the parked aircraft as an obstruction.
- The airport's SMR did not show stationary targets, leaving controllers without visual confirmation of stand occupancy.
- The crew's reliance on visual distance estimation led to the belief that safe clearance could be maintained.
- No specific warnings or limitations regarding wingtip clearance were present in the aeronautical information publication or airfield charts for the stands in question.