# Incident 19970118007429I: Boeing 747*, Los Angeles, CA, January 18, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 18, 1997, 20:50 local time
- Place: Los Angeles, CA
- Airport: Los Angeles International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: Foreign air carrier (Part 129)
- Operator: ANZF
- Location: 33.9425° N, 118.4080° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LOS ANGELES INTL (LAX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9425&lon=-118.4080&mi=10
- Aircraft: ZKNBU (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 747*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 20,114 total, 3,620 in this make and model, 131 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970118007429I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON JANUARY 18, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 8:45 PM, AIR NEW ZEALAND FLIGHT 19, A B-747-400, STRUCK THE RIGHT WINGTIP OF A CONTINENTAL AIRLINES BOEING 747 (N17025), DURING TAXI OPERATIONS. CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 76 ARRIVING FROM HONOLULU, HAD TAXIED TO GATE 69A. ACCORDING TO CONTINENTAL AIRLINES STANDARD PROCEDURES, B-757 AND ALL WIDEBODY AIRCRAFT ARE REQUIRED TO BE TOWED INTO GATE 69A. TAXI GUIDANCE AND STOPPING LIGHTS AT THE GATE WERE INOPERATIVE AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS STOPPED APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET SHORT OF THE DESIGNATED PARKING POINT. WHILE A TOWING VEHICLE WAS ATTACHED TO THE AIRCRAFT, THE PLANE'S TAIL AND RIGHT WING WERE PROTRUDING ONTO THE "CHARLIE" TAXIWAY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL WAS NOT ADVISED BY THE FLIGHT CREW THAT THEIR AIRCRAFT WAS EXTENDING ONTO THE MOVEMENT AREA, HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO OPERATING PROCEDURES, THE ROTATING BEACON REMAINED ON, INDICATING THE AIRCRAFT HAD NOT COMPLETED ITS TAXI INTO THE GATE. AIR NEW ZEALAND FLIGHT 19 HAD BEEN ISSUED A CLEARANCE TO TAXI TO RUNWAY 25R VIA THE "CHARLIE" TAXIWAY. THE NEW ZEALAND JET WAS BEING TAXIED ON THE CENTERLINE OF THE TAXIWAY BY THE FIRST OFFICER, AT A SPEED OF 16 NAUTICAL MILES PER HOUR. NEW ZEALAND 19 PASSED GATE 69A DURING THE TIME THAT THE TOW VEHICLE WAS BEING ATTACHED TO THE CONTINENTAL 747. NEW ZEALAND'S LEFT WINGLET STRUCK THE REAR OF THE CONTINENTAL'S RIGHT WINGTIP. A PORTION OF THE WINGLET WAS EMBEDDED IN CONTINENTAL'S WING. THE CAPTAIN OF THE CONTINENTAL JET WAS ADVISED OF THE COLLISION AND CONTACTED GROUND CONTROL. AIR NEW ZEALAND 19 WAS INFORMED OF THE COLLISION AND TAXIED BACK TO THE GATE. AIR NEW ZEALAND ELECTED TO REMOVE BOTH WINGLETS AND RETURNED THE AIRCRAFT TO SERVICE UNTIL FURTHER REPAIRS COULD BE AFFECTED. CONTINENTAL REPAIRED THE DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WINGTIP AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE ON JANUARY 19, 1997. THE AIR NEW ZEALAND FLIGHT CREW MISJUDGED THE CLEARANCE WITH THE CONTINENTAL B-747 AND ASSUMED THAT THEIR AIRCRAFT WOULD CLEAR ALL OBSTACLES IF TAXIED ON THE CENTERLINE OF TAXIWAY "CHARLIE". THE CREW HAD JUST COMPLETED 24 HOURS OF REST AND WAS GIVEN AN ADDITIONAL 24 HOURS OF REST PRIOR TO BEING RETURNED TO DUTY.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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