Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 25 January 2004
Aircraft Type: Boeing 747-444
Owner/operator: South African Airways – SAA
Registration Number: ZS-SAX
Location: Dakar-L‚opold S‚dar Senghor International Airport (DKR) – ÿ Senegal
Phase of Flight: Standing
Status: Substantial, repaired
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Component Affected: Boeing 747-400 nose code and the 767-00’s wing tip.Boeing 747-400 nose code and the 767-00’s wing tip.
Category: Accident
An Alitalia Boeing 767-00 collided with a parked South African Airways Boeing 747-400 at Dakar-L‚opold S‚dar Senghor International Airport (DKR). The 747-400 was prepared for a flight to New York-JFK Airport, but was struck by the 767-00 while taxiing. The impact caused damage to the 767-00’s nose code.An Alitalia Boeing 767-00 collided with a parked South African Airways Boeing 747-400 at Dakar-L‚opold S‚dar Senghor International Airport (DKR). The 747-400 was prepared for a flight to New York-JFK Airport, but was struck by the 767-00 while taxiing. The impact caused damage to the 767-00’s nose code.

Description

An Alitalia Boeing 767-00 (I-DEIB) contacted a parked South African Airways Boeing 747-400 (ZS-SAX) while taxiing for departure at Dakar-L‚opold S‚dar Senghor International Airport (DKR), Senegal. The Boeing 747-400 was parked at bay J6 and was prepared for its intended flight to New York-JFK Airport when it was hit. The aircraft was not parked correctly in its bay with the front end 14,60 m over its normal placement indicated by a rectangular bay painted on the ground. The right-hand wing tip of the Boeing 767 struck and slashed the nose code of the Boeing 747. Probable Causes: Marshallers assisting with parking of aircraft – Improper signalling by marshallers – Improper execution of marshallers’ instructions – Incorrect positioning of SAA B747 – Lack of understanding of marshallers’ huge responsibility – Problem of laxity by head marshaller – Lack of professionalism and intellectual capacity on the part of the marshallers with regard to management of the situation. Crews in charge of the aircraft – Lack of communication and coordination between the marshallers, crews, and air traffic controller – Work load problem due to traffic density over week ends (cluttering of airways, loaded schedules, stress etc) – Lack of maintenance of awareness by the Crew when on the ground. The Air Traffic Controller who allocates parking space – Problem with an absence of any visibility over the parking areas by the controller – Discrepancy between number of controllers and their work load

Primary Cause

Improper marshaller instruction and coordination leading to incorrect positioning of the 747-400.Improper marshaller instruction and coordination leading to incorrect positioning of the 747-400.

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