Airbus A340 Winglet Collision with Parked Boeing 747 at O.R. Tambo International Aerodrome (ZS-SLB / 9G-MKL)

Incident Overview and Context On the evening of 18 December 2006, an Airbus A340-212, registration ZS-SLB, operated by South African Airways, was preparing for an international scheduled flight from O.R. Tambo International Aerodrome in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Charles de Gaulle International Aerodrome in Paris, France. The flight, which carried 237 passengers and 14 crew members, was delayed from its scheduled 1840Z departure due to severe thunderstorms and heavy rain over the aerodrome. The aircraft was initially parked in bay D37 on the Delta apron. During the pre-departure phase, the crew rectified two Minimum Equipment List (MEL) defects and adjusted flight data following a last-minute change in the active runway. The first officer, who was the pilot flying for the taxi, was on his first training flight on the aircraft type following conversion, with his type experience comprising simulator hours.