ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 314509
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
| Time: | 08:30 UTC |
| Type: |  Boeing 767-323ER |
| Owner/operator: | American Airlines |
| Registration: | N366AA |
| MSN: | 25193/388 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1991 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 39 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN/LEBL) -
 Spain
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport (BCN/LEBL) |
| New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK) | |
| Investigating agency: | CIAIAC |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Boeing 737-800 (B737) operated by Ryanair (EI-EKB) was taxiing on taxiway K toward the runway 25L holding point at the Barcelona Airport. A Boeing 767-300 (B767), operated by American Airlines as flight AA067, was stopped at position G3, one of the three positions available at this holding point (G1, G2 and G3). In order to access one of the unoccupied positions, the B737 had to pass behind the American Airlines airplane. As they neared the position of the B767, the captain of the B737 slowed, turned slightly to the left of the taxiway centerline and instructed the copilot to monitor the separation between the two aircraft.
At one point in the maneuver, and unsure as to whether the B737’s right wingtip could strike the tail of the other aircraft, the copilot asked the captain to stop. The captain did so, got up from her seat and personally verified the separation by looking out the copilot’s window.
The B767 advanced a few meters and the B737 continued taxiing, passing behind the B767 and reaching the G1 holding point.
Just after the maneuver, some of the passengers onboard the B737 reported to the cabin crew that the two aircraft had made contact. The cabin crew informed the flight crew of this, who nonetheless believed that the two aircraft had not touched.
ATC cleared both aircraft to take off, which they did, arriving at their destinations without further incident.
During the walk-around before the B737’s next flight, the crew noticed damage to the winglet on the right wing, which made them suspect that they had in fact made contact with the other aircraft.
Ryanair contacted American Airlines to inform it of the incident. After the arrival of the flight, American Airlines personnel verified the existence of damage to the outboard section of the left horizontal stabilizer. This damage required that the aircraft be removed from service for repairs. It resumed service on April 19, 2011.
Causes
The incident resulted from the crew of the Ryanair B737’s misjudging of the distances as it passed behind the B767, which was stopped at the G3 position of the runway 25L holding point.
Assigning position G3 to an aircraft with a long fuselage, such as a B767-300, and the position of said aircraft, relatively far away from the holding point marking, contributed to the incident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DCA11WA048
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jun-2023 17:56 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 05-Jun-2023 16:10 | harro | Updated |
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