Incident Overview

Description
A Maroomba Airlines DHC-8-315Q was arriving at Minderoo Aircraft Landing Area, WA (YMDR) to pick up passengers for Perth. The aircraft departed Onslow after a refuelling stop at approximately 14:02 local time for the 17-minute flight to Minderoo ALA. On approach to Minderoo, the captain made contact with another aircraft which was positioned on the taxiway near the threshold of runway 08, awaiting departure. The crew of this second aircraft instructed the captain to taxi into an open-ended hangar after landing to allow their aircraft to depart on runway 08, as the only other parking bay was occupied by a helicopter. The first officer, who was pilot flying, landed the aircraft on runway 26 and vacated at the first taxiway into a large hangar located on the south side of the runway. At approximately 14:46, the crew completed boarding of 24 passengers for the return leg to Perth inside the hangar. The captain assumed the role of pilot flying, started the engines and began to taxi following the taxi guideline markings painted on the ground through the hangar. During taxi, both pilots felt a slight drop, which they believed was the right main wheel moving off the taxiway onto the grass. The cabin crew member at the rear of the cabin thought the wing tip may have contacted the hangar as the jolt was greater in the rear of the aircraft. They inspected the wings out of the windows and noted nothing out of the ordinary. The captain continued to taxi towards the entry point of runway 08. After entering and backtracking on runway 26, the crew aligned the aircraft for departure and final pre-take-off checks. At this time, the captain received a phone call from the operator?s head of flying operations who informed them that a witness reported that the aircraft may have made contact with the hangar during the initial taxi. The crew shut down the aircraft on the runway and conducted an inspection. The inspection revealed damage to the aircraft?s left elevator. There were no reported injuries, the passengers were disembarked, and the aircraft was moved to the parking bay.
Primary Cause
Possible wheel contact with the taxiway during initial taxi.Possible wheel contact with the taxiway during initial taxi.Share on: