Aircraft and Operator
The aircraft involved was a Boeing B737-300, registration EC-ELY, owned and operated by Viva-Air, based in Palma, Spain. It was authorized for commercial flights.
Accident Details
On 20 December 1997, at approximately 1755 local time, the aircraft was at gate 43 at Geneva-Cointrin Airport, preparing for a flight to Zurich with 96 passengers on board. After cargo loading was completed and doors were closed, the ground agent gave the pilots the clearance to start engines, which proceeded without issue.
While the ground agent observed the passenger bridge beginning to retract, he removed the wheel chocks as requested by the captain and signaled that the taxiway was clear. Simultaneously, the bridge operator noticed that the retraction movement had stopped and requested assistance via radio. Seeing the aircraft begin to move, the operator urgently descended to the tarmac to inform a colleague but did not find him.
As the ground agent walked away from the aircraft, he looked back and noticed the bridge was still within the Boeing's perimeter. He tried unsuccessfully to signal the crew, who did not see his gestures. The aircraft continued forward, and the left wing leading edge struck the bridge, causing the Boeing to pivot left. The aircraft stopped in that position; no occupants were injured.
Investigation Findings
The pilots held valid flight licenses. No evidence suggested that the involved ground personnel were impaired at the time of the accident.
Examination of the bridge revealed that its automatic and manual leveling and prepositioning systems functioned correctly during initial positioning. However, during retraction, the operator noted a sudden jamming accompanied by illumination of fault lamps for the automatic leveling and prepositioning systems. The manual retraction mode also became inoperative. The ground agent had authorized the captain to taxi before the bridge was fully retracted and then walked away with his back to the aircraft.
The collision occurred at night in rainy conditions.
Cause
The collision of the left wing leading edge with the mobile passenger bridge was due to a sudden failure of the bridge's retraction mechanism, which went unnoticed by the ground agent responsible for the aircraft.