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20090309004249I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Boeing 737-7H4 · Albany, NY · March 9, 2009

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

© OpenStreetMap
Date
March 9, 2009 · 12:37 local
Place
Albany, NY
Airport
Albany International
Phase of flight
Ground/Ramp/Ma
Operating rules
Air carrier (Part 121)
Operator
SWAA
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N267WN
Reported as
Boeing 7377H4
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
0 total0 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days
N267WNRegistered now · Boeing 737-7H4S/N 32525 · Built 2007Airframe modelBoeing 737-7H4Engine modelCFM International CFM56-7B24 seriesTurbo-fan

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) On 03/09/2009, at approximately 12:25, ground operations crew prepared the aircraft for push-back from the gate to the de-icing pad "a". Once the dual boarding bridge (dbb) was retracted, swaa personnel begun pushing the aircraft back. As push back was in progress, approximately twenty to thirty feet, the tug driver started to turn the aircraft to his right. As a result, the left winglet passed slightly under the dual boarding bridge. At the same time, a photo cell sensor in front of the dbb, detected that the aircraft was clear of the gate area. At this point, the dbb, went into the normal park mode and started to descend to a lower level. As a result, the winglet encountered major damage, due to the downward forces of the dbb. Aircraft was then immediately repositioned back to the gate by ground operations crew. As a pre-cautionary measure, airport maintenance personnel shut down the dbb system. Flight crew secured the aircraft, and deplaned 137 passengers. No injuries were reported.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) ON 03/09/2009, AT APPROXIMATELY 12:25, GROUND OPERATIONS CREW PREPARED THE AIRCRAFT FOR PUSH-BACK FROM THE GATE TO THE DE-ICING PAD "A". ONCE THE DUAL BOARDING BRIDGE (DBB) WAS RETRACTED, SWAA PERSONNEL BEGUN PUSHING THE AIRCRAFT BACK. AS PUSH BACK WAS IN PROGRESS, APPROXIMATELY TWENTY TO THIRTY FEET, THE TUG DRIVER STARTED TO TURN THE AIRCRAFT TO HIS RIGHT. AS A RESULT, THE LEFT WINGLET PASSED SLIGHTLY UNDER THE DUAL BOARDING BRIDGE. AT THE SAME TIME, A PHOTO CELL SENSOR IN FRONT OF THE DBB, DETECTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEAR OF THE GATE AREA. AT THIS POINT, THE DBB, WENT INTO THE NORMAL PARK MODE AND STARTED TO DESCEND TO A LOWER LEVEL. AS A RESULT, THE WINGLET ENCOUNTERED MAJOR DAMAGE, DUE TO THE DOWNWARD FORCES OF THE DBB. AIRCRAFT WAS THEN IMMEDIATELY REPOSITIONED BACK TO THE GATE BY GROUND OPERATIONS CREW. AS A PRE-CAUTIONARY MEASURE, AIRPORT MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL SHUT DOWN THE DBB SYSTEM. FLIGHT CREW SECURED THE AIRCRAFT, AND DEPLANED 137 PASSENGERS. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.