- Date
- November 23, 2005, 15:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Telluride, CO
- Injuries
- 19 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N253GLBeech 1900D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20051123027839I
- Case key
- 62883
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 adequate clearance from the airplane resulting in the baggage cart striking the airplane's stabilon. A factor contributing to the incident was the tug driver's failure to consider the extra height of the cart in relation to the other carts used on the airport.
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
The airplane was parked with the engines shut down, the parking brake set, and the wheels chocked. The captain said that they kept the passengers on board until some of the bags were off loaded from the aft baggage compartment so as not to overload the landing gear struts. The captain said that they opened the door and he got off to meet the agent. The agent approached the airplane driving a tug that was pulling a baggage cart. The captain said, "While turning the corner to line up the baggage cart with the airplane, the baggage cart struck and damaged the left-hand stabilon." The baggage cart that was used was new and taller than those previously used at the airport. This was the first time the agent had pulled this cart. The agent said he drove clockwise around the airplane to position the cart to unload the baggage. He said that he was close enough to the airplane that the top right corner of the baggage cart hit the stabilon.
Factual narrative
On November 23, 2005, approximately 1515 mountain standard time, a Beech 1900D, N253GL, operating as Great Lakes Airlines, Flight 5087, sustained minor damage when it was struck by a baggage cart at the Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), Telluride, Colorado. The scheduled, domestic passenger flight from Denver, Colorado, to TEX was being conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. The captain, first officer and 17 passengers on board the airplane were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident.
According to the captain, they were parked with engines shut down, the parking brake set, and the wheels chocked. He said they kept the passengers on board until some of the bags were off loaded from the aft baggage compartment so as not to overload the landing gear struts. The captain said they opened the door and he got off to meet the agent. The agent approached the airplane driving a tug that was pulling a baggage cart. The captain said, "While turning the corner to line up the baggage cart with the airplane, the baggage cart struck and damaged the left-hand stabilon."
According to the agent driving the tug, he said that the baggage cart he was towing was new and taller when compared to the 2 trailers they had been using at TEX. He said that this was the first time he had towed this cart. The agent said he drove clockwise around the airplane to position the cart to unload the baggage. He said that he was close enough to the airplane that the top right corner of the baggage cart hit the stabilon.
Inspection of the airplane revealed a crack in the lower aft outboard section of the left stabilon. No other damage was found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N253GL
- Reported as
- Beech 1900D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- UE253
- Airframe hours
- 19,524
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PT-6A, 750 horsepower, turbo propPratt & Whitney PT-6A, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Great Lakes Aviation, LTD
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · November 1, 2005
- Departed
- DEN · Denver, CO
- Destination
- TEX · Telluride, CO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- TEX · Telluride Regional Airport
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,035 total · 6,495 in this make and model · 240 in the last 90 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2005
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 990 total · 97 in this make and model · 97 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- TEX, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N253GL · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.