Pilot Debrief

BOEING 737-700 near Salt Lake City, UT — 2008-11-07

Final reportWPR09IA033
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Date
2008-11-07
Location
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Airport
KSLC
Aircraft
BOEING 737-700
Registration
N254WN
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The tug driver's failure to maintain situational awareness during the push back operation.

NTSB narrative

During a push back from a jetway, the airplane's winglet collided with the winglet of an unoccupied airplane parked at the adjacent gate. Prior to the push back, the wheels of the tug were not aligned straight ahead, but were instead turned partially to one side. Therefore as the push back was initiated, the nose of the airplane moved toward the jetway instead of going straight back. At that point, instead of terminating the push back and realigning the tug, the tug driver attempted to maneuver the tug in a manner that would result in the nose of the airplane clearing the jetway. During this attempt, the tug driver's attention became focused upon the jetway, and he therefore did not see or hear the visual and oral warning signals being given by the wing-walker.

NTSB coding

  • Ground collision · Pushback/towing
  • Attention / Monitoring
View NTSB final report

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