What happened
On September 17, 2011, at approximately 11:12 UTC, a collision occurred on the taxiways of Palma de Mallorca Airport. An Orbest Airbus A320-214, registration EC-LAJ, was stationary at the H-2 holding point for runway 24R, awaiting clearance for a flight to Cork, Ireland. Simultaneously, a SAS Boeing 73/7-800, registration LN-RRH, was taxiing via the North taxiway toward the H-1 holding point.
As the Boeing 737-800 crossed taxiway H-2, its left wingtip made contact with the aft section of the Airbus A320. The impact caused the winglet of the LN-RRH to become lodged on the APU exhaust cone of the EC-LAJ. The crew of the Boeing 737-800 immediately stopped the aircraft and notified the control tower. Following the impact, the aircraft were moved via tractor and subsequently returned to their parking stands for damage assessment. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers, though the Airbus A320 sustained significant damage to its rear fuselage and APU exhaust structure.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation examined the taxiing sequences, air traffic control communications, and the recent changes to the airport's infrastructure. The investigation focused on the recent relocation of the H-1 and H-2 holding points, which had been moved earlier that year to prevent aircraft from encroaching on runway approach surfaces. The investigators also reviewed the effectiveness of the airport's risk mitigation measures and the dissemination of taxiing restrictions via NOTAMs.
Findings
- The investigation established that the crew of the Boeint 737-800 decided to taxi to the H-1 holding point behind the Airbus A320 despite the separation being below the minimum required by the operator's manual.
- The Boeing 737-800 crew was unaware of specific taxiing restrictions at the airport because the relevant NOTAM had been filtered out by the airline's automated flight planning system due to an ambiguous 'M' (miscellaneous) purpose qualifier.
- The airport authority, AENA, had not fully implemented or monitored all planned mitigation measures regarding the new holding point locations.
- The control tower was unable to clearly identify all aircraft positions due to the distance from the tower to the holding area.
- The crew of the Boeing 737-800 attempted to maintain separation by reducing speed and deviating from the centerline, but the clearance remained insufficient to avoid contact.
Safety action
- REC 04/13: Recommended that ICAO publish clearer guidelines for assigning purpose qualifiers in NOTAMs to improve standardization.
- REC 05/13: Recommended that AENA revise its NOTAM coding criteria to ensure operational restrictions are properly addressed.
- REC 06/13: Recommended that SAS revise its NOTAM management system criteria to prevent the accidental filtering of operationally important messages.