Incident Overview
On 2 November 2002, a Boeing 737-8AS, registration EI-CSM, was parked nose-in on stand D62R at the satellite terminal of London-Stansted Airport. The flight was preparing to depart for Trieste, Italy, with 136 passengers and 5 crew on board. All doors were closed.
Sequence of Events
Approximately 20 minutes before the incident, a driver had parked a set of steps attached to a tug at the terminal end of the stand. When he returned to move the tug for another task, he believed he had disconnected the steps, but they remained attached. Instead of driving along the inter-stand clearway as required, he drove the combination across the stand. Still unaware that the steps were attached, he passed under the right wing tip of the aircraft. The top of the steps contacted the number eight slat, causing significant damage.
Crew Response
The commander felt the aircraft move violently sideways to the right, with the nose rocking side to side. Suspecting a collision with another aircraft, he checked the reflection in the terminal windows but saw no other aircraft. The co-pilot opened his window, and the commander leaned across and observed liquid emanating from the right wing tip. A ground engineer confirmed it was not fuel. The commander had ground power connected (which was immediately available) and shut down the APU as a precaution. The liquid was later identified as water that had accumulated on the upper wing surface.
The incident was reported to ATC via ground frequency, and Rescue and Fire Fighting Services were dispatched. The commander used the aircraft's public address system to inform the passengers and then left the aircraft to inspect the damage. The aircraft was withdrawn from service for repairs, and passengers deplaned via the normal exit.