20211219021129I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · De Havilland DH8 · Dulles, VA · December 19, 2021

Date: December 19, 2021 · 10:08 local
Place: Dulles, VA
Airport: Dulles International Airport
Phase of flight: Other, Specify
Operating rules: Foreign air carrier (Part 129)
Operator: P54F
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: NONE
Reported as: De Havilland DH8
People aboard: 38
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0

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.

According to operator report: "propeller was stationary when airport jet bridge was positioned towards aircraft and struck blade #1 on LH prop assy on the tip, resulting in cracked leading edge guard and what appears to be underlying structural damage to blade tip. Blade to be removed, hub to be inspected, and new blade to be installed."

Inspector comment: the ground crew directed the pilot past the painted stop line for DHC-8 aircraft. The aircraft was stopped, parking brake set, both engines shut down. While maneuvering the jetway, the jetway contacted the propeller. The propeller was damaged, and jetway fabric was torn. Transport Canada inspector concurred with corrective actions taken by the operator.

As the FAA filed it

ACCORDING TO OPERATOR REPORT: "PROPELLER WAS STATIONARY WHEN AIRPORT JET BRIDGE WAS POSITIONED TOWARDS AIRCRAFT AND STRUCK BLADE #1 ON LH PROP ASSY ON THE TIP, RESULTING IN CRACKED LEADING EDGE GUARD AND WHAT APPEARS TO BE UNDERLYING STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO BLADE TIP. BLADE TO BE REMOVED, HUB TO BE INSPECTED, AND NEW BLADE TO BE INSTALLED."

INSPECTOR COMMENT: THE GROUND CREW DIRECTED THE PILOT PAST THE PAINTED STOP LINE FOR DHC-8 AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS STOPPED, PARKING BRAKE SET, BOTH ENGINES SHUT DOWN. WHILE MANEUVERING THE JETWAY, THE JETWAY CONTACTED THE PROPELLER. THE PROPELLER WAS DAMAGED, AND JETWAY FABRIC WAS TORN. TRANSPORT CANADA INSPECTOR CONCURRED WITH CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE OPERATOR.