What happened
On 30 August 2001, a Boeing 747-186B, registration EP-IAM, was parked at Stand L31 at London Heathrow Airport. The aircraft was engaged in scheduled public transport operations. During the process of loading the forward cargo hold, a high loader was positioned alongside the aircraft.
Once the loading process was finished, the handling agent initiated the closing sequence for the cargo door. However, the high loader remained in place adjacent to the door during this maneuver. As the door moved toward its closed position, the rear corner of the door made contact with a guide rail on the high loader, resulting in the door buckling.
The investigation
Following the incident, the AAIB examined the circumstances surrounding the loading procedure. The investigation established that the damage occurred because the closing mechanism was activated while the loading equipment was still obstructing the door's path. The resulting damage was limited to the buckling of the cargo door. Following the event, the aircraft was taken out of service and subsequently flown to Hamburg to undergo necessary repairs.