What happened
On 29 April 1998, a Boeing 767-31K, registration G-DAJC, arrived at Birmingham International Airport on a positioning flight from Manchester. The flight, operated by a crew of 11 with two positioning passengers, landed on Runway 15 at 0700 hrs. Following landing, the aircraft was cleared to taxi via taxiway 'E' toward Stand 56.
As the aircraft approached the stand, the 'Safegate' Docking Guidance System (DGS) was displaying flashing lower green lights and a 'STOP SHORT' message on the upper display. While the pilot taxied along the stand centerline, a ground engineer observed the aircraft's progress and attempted to signal the flight deck to stop. However, the aircraft continued forward, eventually striking the terminal infrastructure. The collision caused the port engine nacelle to become wedged under the airbridge and resulted in minor damage to the left engine cowling and the left leading edge slats. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers.
The investigation
The investigation established that while the 'STOP SHORT' instruction was active on the DGS, no marshaller was present at the stand to guide the aircraft upon its arrival. Although the airbridge operator had correctly selected the 'STOP SHORT' setting on the aircraft selector panel, the ground engineer and the airbridge operator failed to utilize the DGS 'Emergency Stop' buttons when the aircraft overran the designated stop mark by 3.3 metres.
Investigators found that the aircraft had overshot the paint mark intended to indicate the correct nosewheel position for the Boeing 767-31K. While the DGS was experiencing issues with three inoperative induction loops, these did not affect the visibility of the 'STOP SHORT' instruction. The investigation also noted that the flight crew's documentation (Jeppesen publications) did not include descriptions for all potential messages, specifically the 'STOP SHORT' message displayed during the incident.
Findings
- The aircraft overran the designated stopping point by 3.3 metres.
- No marshaller was present to assist the pilot during the arrival at the stand.
- The ground engineer and airbridge operator did not activate the 'Emergency Stop' buttons to halt the aircraft.
- The 'STOP SHORT' instruction was active on the DGS, but the crew was unaware of the specific requirement to stop at a different location.
Safety action
Following the incident, the CAA proposed amendments to CAP 637 to clarify the operation of the 'STOP SHORT' function. The revised instructions aim to ensure that when this manual function is used, the display clearly alternates between 'STOP' and 'SHORT' and that the 'ready for docking' lights flash, providing better clarity for ground staff and flight crews.