Airbus A380 Wing Strikes Regional Jet, Spinning It Nearly 90 Degrees

April 11, 2011 — Air France A380 F-HPJD and Comair CRJ N641CA — JFK

The collision happened on the ground, not in the air. A Delta Connection CRJ had arrived from Boston and was taxiing toward its gate when an Air France A380 taxiing for departure clipped its tail with the A380's left wing. The CRJ rotated nearly 90 degrees. Nobody was injured, but both aircraft sustained structural damage.

The wingtip path was the central issue

The completed NTSB investigation found that the CRJ was stationary when the collision occurred, but part of its tail extended from the parking-ramp area onto Taxiway M. The A380 was taxiing for departure and its crew did not identify that the airplane's wingtip path would not maintain clearance from the CRJ.

The investigation also identified a second operational problem. The CRJ crew had stopped with part of the airplane extending onto the taxiway but did not advise air traffic control of that position. That omission was a contributing factor in the NTSB's finding.

This was therefore not a collision between two aircraft moving toward one another at speed. One aircraft was stationary and the other was taxiing. The critical issue was the geometry of the A380's swept wing and the crew's ability to judge the wingtip path in relation to an aircraft whose tail was protruding into the taxiway.

Both aircraft sustained substantial damage, but none of the 485 passengers and 25 crewmembers aboard the A380 or the 62 passengers and four crewmembers aboard the CRJ were injured. The final investigation therefore provides a detailed operational finding without a casualty-producing outcome.

The NTSB record also clarifies the occupancy figures and the physical position of the CRJ. The CRJ was waiting for ramp clearance to its parking position, with its tail extending onto Taxiway M. That meant the A380 crew's clearance assessment had to account for the aircraft's full wingtip sweep rather than simply the visible fuselage position. The final finding is consequently about clearance judgment and situational awareness on the ground, not a failure of either aircraft to remain controllable.

The NTSB also records the exact time as about 20:06 EDT. The CRJ had arrived from Boston and was waiting for ramp clearance, while the A380 was preparing for departure. The final finding therefore depends on the physical relationship between a stationary regional jet and the much larger aircraft's wingtip path, not on a failure of the A380's flight controls.

The NTSB's conclusion also explains why the CRJ's stationary position did not remove its role in the accident. Its tail extended into the taxiway used by the A380, while the A380 crew failed to recognize the wingtip clearance problem. Both facts appear in the final finding.

Accident Facts

Timeline

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