Sequence of Events
On 12 December 1996, at 1537 UTC, an Avro 146-RJ100 (registration HB-IXR) operated by Crossair was parked at dock position A-04 on Zurich Airport. A catering truck driver had been assigned to pick up catering from a Swissair flight MD-11 at position A-50. As he approached, he saw the MD-11 taxiing into the dock area and decided to wait. He parked his truck behind the Avro 146, within the stand boundary of position A-04 but outside the marked road. He turned off the engine and lights.
Meanwhile, the flight crew of the Avro 146 (Swissair flight SR 3794) received pushback clearance. The pilot activated the rotating beacon and informed the ground crew that the aircraft was ready for pushback and engine start. The supervisor of the ground crew checked that no obstacles were near the engines and gave the hand signal to the tractor driver to begin pushback. The driver turned on the tractor's rotating beacon and usual lights, and the supervisor boarded the tractor. They began moving slowly.
After approximately 30 meters, the tail of the Avro 146 struck the parked, unlit catering truck, causing the truck to tip onto its side. No injuries occurred. The aircraft sustained damage to its tail, APU door, and air brakes. The truck suffered damage to its left and right sides.
Findings
- The aircraft was certified for flight operations and the crew licenses were valid.
- The aircraft was parked at dock position A-04.
- At the time of the collision, the catering truck was parked within the stand boundary of dock A-04, unlit, and behind the aircraft.
- It was twilight; the floodlighting system in the dock area was switched on.
Cause
The accident was attributed to a lack of attention by the ground crew supervisor during the pushback, resulting in a collision with an incorrectly parked, unlit catering vehicle.