What happened
On the night of January 27, 2009, an ATR 42-500, registration F-GPYD, operated by Airlinair, was undergoing a pushback maneuver at Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport. The flight, a scheduled passenger service bound for Rouen, was slightly delayed. During the procedure, the flight crew requested the start of engine number one while the aircraft was still being pushed back.
As the maneuver progressed, the ground crew experienced a sudden halt. The headset operator, focused on monitoring the engine start, did not immediately realize the aircraft had struck an obstacle. The crew also failed to identify the impact, as they mistakenly attributed the sudden jolt to a previously experienced issue involving a tow bar fuse. The collision was only identified after a third-party ground agent, positioned on the other side of a blast fence, signaled that an anomaly had occurred. Upon inspection, the ground crew discovered that the aircraft's tail cone had struck the blast fence, resulting in approximately 50 centimeters of damage to the cone dome.
The investigation
The BEA investigation examined the configuration of the parking stand, the ground crew's performance, and the cockpit procedures. Investigators found that the white stop marker, which should have indicated the limit for the nose gear, had been erased during recent pavement repairs. Furthermore, the blast fence, which was relatively tall due to nearby buildings, lacked any lighting at the time of the incident.
Technical reviews of the ground crew's composition revealed that the tug driver was working with a relatively inexperienced headset operator who had only been performing these duties for six weeks. The investigation also noted that the driver felt overwhelmed by the simultaneous requirement to manage the pushback and monitor the engine start requested by the crew.
Findings
Several contributing factors led to the collision:
- The engine start during pushback significantly increased the workload of the ground crew, diverting the headset operator's attention away from monitoring the aircraft's surroundings.
- The absence of the white stop marker at the parking stand removed a critical visual reference for the tug driver.
- The lack of lighting on the blast fence made the obstacle difficult to perceive during the night maneuver.
- The flight crew's haste to recover from a delay contributed to the decision to start an engine during the pushback.
- The ground crew's inability to recognize the impact was compounded by the crew's misinterpretation of the physical jolt as a recurring mechanical issue.