- Date
- January 3, 2005, 19:34 local (Jan 4, 2005, 02:34 UTC)
- Place
- Denver, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 15 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N202UXBeech 1900D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 8, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20050103000799I
- Case key
- 60850
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
the tug driver's failure to maintain operational control of the tug, resulting in impact with an airplane. Contributing factors include the tug driver's improper procedure, the tug driver's inadequate initial ground equipment training, and the company/operator's inadequate certification/approval of the tug driver.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to witnesses, the tug was parked behind the left wing of the airplane, facing in the opposite direction, with its engine running. The airplane's engines were not running. When the tug operator "jumped" onto the tug, he lost his footing and slipped. As he grabbed for something to catch his balance, his right arm hit the tug's gearshift lever. As the tug started moving forward in a right turn, the tug operator's left foot became caught between the tug's frame and left rear tire. The tug circled around the left wing tip of the airplane and it struck the left engine nacelle. The tug operator's foot became wedged between the tug and the airplane's stairs, resulting in a sprained left ankle and a few minor lacerations. The airplane sustained minor damage to the left engine nacelle and one propeller blade. According to the FAA, the tug operator's training records did not reflect the tug operator's qualifications to operate ground equipment, including the gas powered Kubota tug involved in this incident.
Factual narrative
On January 3, 2005, at 1934 mountain standard time, a Beech 1900D, N202UX, operated by Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd, as Lakes Air Flight 5039, sustained minor damage when it was struck by a tug while parked at gate A52, Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado. Night visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the incident. The airline transport certificated captain, and first officer and 13 passengers on board were not injured. The tug operator received minor injuries. The scheduled domestic passenger flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 121 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight to McCook, Nebraska, was preparing for departure.
According to witnesses, the tug was parked behind the left wing of the airplane, facing in the opposite direction, with its engine running. The airplane's engines were not running. When the tug operator "jumped" onto the tug, he lost his footing and slipped. As he grabbed for something to catch his balance, his right arm hit the tug's gearshift lever. As the tug started moving forward in a right turn, the tug operator's left foot became caught between the tug's frame and left rear tire. The tug circled around the left wing tip of the airplane and it struck the left engine nacelle. The tug operator's foot became wedged between the tug and the airplane's stairs, resulting in a sprained left ankle and a few minor lacerations. The airplane sustained minor damage to the left engine nacelle and one propeller blade.
According to the FAA, the tug operator's training records did not reflect the tug operator's qualifications to operate ground equipment, including the gas powered Kubota tug involved in this incident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N202UX
- Reported as
- Beech 1900D
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6a-67D, 1,279 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Great Lakes Aviation LTD.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- DEN · Denver, CO
- Destination
- MCK · Denver, CO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DEN · Denver Internationl
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 2,150 in this make and model · 1,450 as pilot in command · 259 in the last 90 days · 89 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 20° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KDEN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.