Incident Overview
On the morning of 10 March 2023, a Beechcraft 1900D aircraft with registration ZS-PKB was involved in a serious incident while taxiing at O.R. Tambo International Airport (FAOR) in Gauteng province, South Africa. The aircraft, operated by Cemair, was preparing for a scheduled commercial flight to Margate Airport (FAMG) in KwaZulu-Natal province. The flight had filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) plan, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
Flight Details
The aircraft had been parked at bay C19 and received pushback and start clearance from Air Traffic Control on frequency 121.9 MHz. During pushback, engine number 2 was started, followed by engine number 1. Once on taxiway India, the ramp agent signaled the crew to engage the parking brakes, and the towbar was disconnected from the aircraft and reconnected to the tug, which was parked in front of the aircraft. The crew completed the after-start checklist while the tug moved away. The pilot flying then received taxi clearance, checked for obstructions on the left side while the pilot monitoring checked the right, and released the brakes to begin taxi. Shortly thereafter, the right-wing tip and the underside of the right wing struck the stationary tug, causing damage.
Damage and Post-Incident Actions
The collision resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft's right leading-edge tip. The aircraft was taxied back to parking bay C19, where the engines were shut down. None of the two pilots and 19 passengers on board were injured. The passengers were sent back to the terminals, and the aircraft was grounded pending investigation. The South African Civil Aviation Authority's Accident and Incident Investigations Division was notified and initiated a full investigation into the serious incident.