DEN05IA071

This case was modified December 2, 2008.

The airplane was being marshalled to the gate by another operator's ground personnel. The ground personnel marshalled the airplane onto the "727" stop bar line, which was located approximately 25 feet forward of the "737" stop bar line. After the airplane was parked, the loading bridge operator maneuvered the loading bridge toward the airplane, and the loading bridge impacted the airplane's left engine pylon fairing. At the time of the incident, the loading bridge wheels were positioned within the painted hash-mark box. The ground operations investigation report stated, "A complete lack of communication among interested parties accompanied by the assigning unqualified agents and a lack of direct supervision was the major cause of this accident. The Supervisor on Duty also directed the marshaller to bring the [aircraft] up to the 727 stop block which is approximately 25-30 feet forward of the 737 stop block. This was only communicated to the marshaller and not to anyone else. The supervisor was not in attendance during the arrival of the [aircraft]." The marshalling of the flight was an irregular operation for the ground personnel which normally handles regional jets.

This case was modified December 2, 2008

On April 25, 2005, approximately 1105 mountain daylight time, Casino Express flight 211, a Boeing 737-282, N789TM, sustained minor damage when the loading bridge contacted the airplane when it was parked at the gate at Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado. None of the 92 passengers, 6 crew members, or ground personnel was injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated at Wendover Airport (ENV), in Wendover, Utah, approximately 0930.

According to the flight crew, the airplane was marshalled to gate A52 by Frontier Airlines ground operations. The ground personnel marshalled the airplane onto the "727" stop bar line, which was located approximately 25 feet forward of the "737" stop bar line. After the airplane was parked, the loading bridge operator maneuvered the loading bridge toward the airplane, and the loading bridge impacted the airplane's left engine pylon fairing. At the time of the incident, the loading bridge wheels were positioned within the painted hash-mark box. The flight crew was unaware that the loading bridge impacted the airplane until they were alerted by the cabin crew.

According to the Frontier Airlines Ground Accident/Incident Investigation Report, "A complete lack of communication among interested parties accompanied by the assigning unqualified agents and a lack of direct supervision was the major cause of this accident. The Supervisor on Duty also directed the marshaller to bring the [aircraft] up to the 727 stop block which is approximately 25-30 feet forward of the 737 stop block. This was only communicated to the marshaller and not to anyone else. The supervisor was not in attendance during the arrival of the [aircraft]."

The report stated the ground marshalling of the Casino Express flight was an irregular operation for the Frontier Jet Express team which normally handles regional jets.