When discussing ground incidents that can cause damage, we are not referring to hard landings, runway excursions, or tail strikes. It also does not concern damage suffered to the aircraft while moving under its own power and does not include:
- Tire damage and flat tires
- Any damage caused by inclement weather, like hail storms
- Any damage caused by wildlife, including birds
It is focused solely on incidents that happen on the apron, when the aircraft is being towed, or when it is undergoing maintenance. According to a ground damage report published by the Montreal-headquartered International Air Transport Association (IATA), ground handling errors have severe and costly consequences. These could include injuries, operational delays, and expensive repairs to aircraft. Unless better training is provided to airport workers, the IATA estimates that the annual costs attributed to ground damage could rise to as much as $10 billion by 2035.
1. Most ground damage is caused by human error
- Staffing levels
- The amount of training and experience a ground handler has
- The ground handlers ability to operate ground moving equipment (GME)
- Ramp design
- Traffic congestion
- Weather
Other factors that contribute to ground damage can be a person’s well-being and stress level, the culture of the workplace, or a person’s ability to make the correct decision. These days, mobile phones and social media can distract many people. They look at their cell phones rather than paying attention to what they are doing. 50 % of people can cause ground damage by being distracted, while the other 50% can be caused by rushing or trying to cut corners.
2. Motorized Ground service equipment (GSE)
Damage to aircraft caused by motorized ground service equipment (GSE) endangers passengers, airline staff, and ground workers and puts unnecessary pressure on airline budgets. If an aircraft is damaged, it is out of action until it can be repaired, hurting the airline’s daily operations.
Aircraft ground damage poses a critical challenge, compromising passenger and airport personnel safety and exerting substantial pressure on airline budgets. It disrupts the smooth flow of daily operations and stems from various incidents, manifesting in various forms.
3. Movable stair trucks colliding with aircraft
Most ground damage incidents to aircraft occur when the aircraft is parked, loading, unloading, being towed, or having maintenance done. A relatively high number of ground damage incidents while the aircraft is on the ground are related to airbridges. An example would be an aircraft parking on the apron and the ground crew approaching the plane with movable stairs so that the passengers can disembark.
Photo: Adam Fagen | Flickr
The crew member driving the truck on which the stairs are mounted misjudged the distance and crashed the stairs into the plane, causing damage to the aircraft’s fuselage. The plane must now undergo maintenance before it is considered airworthy to fly again.
4. Baggage loading truck collisions and ground damage
Like all vehicles that operate around aircraft, a mechanical failure or loss of concentration can cause a luggage loader to crash into the aircraft. In a move designed to cut costs in 2020, Australian flag carrier Qantas fired its ground handlers and outsourced their jobs. Not long after this, two baggage loaders collided with the aircraft.
One incident took place at Darwin Airport (DRW) when a baggage loader crashed into a Boeing 737 and became wedged under the plane. Two weeks later, another baggage belt loader hit and put a large gash into the aircraft at Perth Airport (PER). The driver of the baggage loader claimed that the brakes failed.
While many large airports have underground fuel supply lines to connect to and refuel aircraft, others, especially smaller airports, rely on fuel trucks to refuel aircraft. In November 2019, a fuel truck collided with two American Airlines regional jets at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
Both aircraft were Bombardier CRJ-900s owned by Mesa Airlines, a regional carrier operating flights for American Airlines. The fuel truck hit the wing of the first plane, destroying its winglet before driving into the wing of the second plane. Both flights had to be canceled, and the passengers were accommodated on other aircraft.
6. Passenger airbridges and aircraft ground damage
Photo: Adam Fagen | Flickr
Most airbridges are fixed with the outer part like a foldable concertina that can be moved to fit snuggly over the cabin door and retracted once the passengers have boarded and the planes are ready to leave. The types of damage an airbridge can cause to the aircraft are:
- Damage to the fuselage.
- Door damage is due to the airbridge failing to adjust to the weight of the plane, which changes as passengers board and disembark.
Aircraft towing and aircraft ground damage
Airlines and their pilots rely on tugs to push back aircraft from the stand and transport them to and from the gate to a hangar for maintenance. Pilots have no idea what is behind them while being pushed back from the gate and rely on the tug operator to ensure nothing is behind them.
An example of ground damage caused by a tug was an incident at Dublin Airport in 2017. As an Airbus A320 was being pushed back, the shear pin broke, and the tug driver lost control and ran into the plane’s right engine, causing significant damage.
Source: Simple Flying
