What aircraft was involved and where did it happen?

The accident on 1998-02-22 involved a Aerospatiale ATR 72-202, at Flughafen Frankfurt/Main, DE.

What was the probable cause of the accident?

The accident occurred because the ATR 72 maneuvered too closely behind the Tupolev TU 154, placing it directly within the path of the larger aircraft's engine exhaust blast.

ATR 72 nose gear damaged by jet blast at Frankfurt Airport

An ATR 72 sustained significant nose gear damage after being caught in the engine exhaust of a Tupolev Tu-154 during taxiing at Frankfurt Airport.

What happened

On February 22, 1998, at Frankfurt Airport, an ATR 72 was taxiing from Berlin-Tempelhof toward parking stand V 101. While following behind a Tupolev TU 154 on taxiway Alfa, the ATR 72 encountered the jet blast from the larger aircraft's engines. The force of the exhaust caused the ATR 72's right wing to lift and rotated the aircraft approximately 90 degrees to the right. The forward fuselage also lifted by 1 to 1.5 meters during the event. This movement resulted in severe damage to the nose gear, specifically breaking the right wheel axle and bending the left wheel axle. Despite the damage, the aircraft managed to taxi under its own power to its assigned stand.

The investigation

The BFU investigation focused on radio communications between Frankfurt Apron (East) and the crews of both aircraft. The investigation established that the TU 154 had stopped on taxiway Delta at a CAT II/III stop bar, which caused the aircraft's tail to protrude into taxiway Alfa, effectively blocking the path. The ATR 72 crew, observing that the TU 154 showed no signs of moving, decided to deviate from the taxiway centerline to pass behind the tail of the Tupolev. The crew notified Apron of this maneuver, and the controller permitted it, as there were no other conflicting traffic movements at that moment.

Because the TU 154 had already departed German airspace by the time the accident was reported, the BFU could not interview the crew or review the flight data recorder from that aircraft. However, written statements from the ATR 72 crew indicated that the TU 154 was applying full takeoff thrust during its movement.

Findings

The primary cause of the accident was the ATR 72 entering the jet blast of the TU 154.
The ATR 72 crew contributed to the incident by initiating the pass while taxiway Alfa was not yet clear.
The crew's estimation of the required safety distance from the moving aircraft was incorrect.
The positioning of the TU 154, which blocked the taxiway, was a contributing factor.
The use of the phrase "hold short of RWY 25R" was found to be subject to different interpretations, as it did not explicitly mandate stopping at the exact taxi-holding position.

Safety action

The BFU issued a safety recommendation to the ICAO to replace or remove the phrase "HOLD SHORT OF (position)" with more precise terminology to prevent ambiguity in taxi instructions.