What happened
On 31 October 2018, at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, two large aircraft were involved in a ground collision during taxi operations. The first aircraft, an Airbus A330-200 registered F-GZCI operated by Air France, was taxiing toward runway 0obL and had come to a standstill at the T4 holding point. The second aircraft, an Airbus A330-300 registered N817NW operated by Delta Air Lines, was taxiing on taxiway R.
As the Delta Air Lines crew approached the Air France aircraft, the captain noted a very small separation margin. After briefly stopping, the captain decided to continue taxiing, estimating a distance of approximately ten feet between the two planes. During this maneuver, the left wingtip of the N817NW struck the tail section of the F-GZCI. The impact caused severe damage to the Air France aircraft, specifically affecting the trimmable horizontal stabilizer (THS), the tail cone, and the APU compartment, while the Delta aircraft sustained only slight damage to its left wingtip.
The investigation
The BEA examined flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data, radio communications, and the AVISO ground traffic display system. The investigation also reviewed witness statements and analyzed the physical damage to both aircraft. Investigators looked into the visibility of wingtips from the cockpit and the effectiveness of air traffic control monitoring during high-traffic periods.
Findings
- The primary cause of the collision was an error in judging the distance between the two aircraft by the Delta Air Lines crew.
- The pilot of the Delta aircraft decided to proceed with the maneuver despite the narrow margin of separation.
- The crew of the Air France aircraft initially misinterpreted the physical jolt as jet blast from a preceding aircraft, delaying their awareness of the collision.
- While the Delta crew was aware of the impact, they failed to immediately report the specific collision to air traffic control, likely due to high workload and simultaneous communications with cabin crew and operations.
- The investigation noted that following a taxiway centerline does not prevent collisions on intersecting taxiways, and cockpit visibility of wingtips can be extremely limited on large aircraft models.