Incident Overview
On 19 September 2003, a Dornier 328, registration OE-HMS, was involved in a ground incident at Glasgow Airport, Scotland. The aircraft had just landed and was taxiing to a parking area under the guidance of a 'follow me' vehicle. The flight was a private chartered service with two crew members and 14 passengers on board. No injuries occurred among the occupants.
Sequence of Events
After landing, air traffic control instructed the aircraft to taxi to Area 'J', a parking area normally reserved for light single-engine aircraft. However, due to no such aircraft being present at the time, permission had been granted for the Dornier 328 to use the space. A 'follow me' vehicle escorted the aircraft to the area. Upon entering Area 'J', the escort vehicle departed, and marshalling guidance was transferred to a marshaller positioned ahead of the aircraft, with two wingmen stationed at each wingtip.
The marshaller then signalled for the aircraft to turn left toward its designated parking spot. During this turn, the right wingtip struck the side of a two-storey prefabricated building, creating a 4-metre gash in the wall before the aircraft came to a stop. The right wingman, whose view of the marshaller was obstructed at the critical moment, realised the wingtip was likely to hit the building and signalled to the first officer to stop. However, the flight crew could not prevent the collision.
Damage and Aftermath
The Dornier 328 sustained damage to its right wingtip. The prefabricated building had a 4-metre gash in its wall. Following the incident, airfield operations issued an Operations Safety Management Instruction (No 33-03) that restricted the size of aircraft permitted to park in Area 'J'.
Aircraft and Crew Information
The aircraft was a Dornier 328 (registration OE-HMS) manufactured in 1999, equipped with two Pratt & Whitney PW306B turbofan engines. The commander, aged 57, held an Airline Transport Pilot's Licence and had accumulated 8,900 total flying hours, including 300 hours on the Dornier 328. His flying experience in the previous 90 days was 102 hours, and in the last 28 days, 46 hours.