NTSB investigating wing clipping incident at New York's JFK airport

2011-04-13 02:48:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday informed that it is investigating the wing clipping incident between an Air France jet and a smaller aircraft at New York's JFK airport.

On Monday night, an Airbus A380 from Air France clipped a smaller Bombardier CRJ-700 from Comair but no injuries were reported. The incident occurred at about 8:25 p.m. local time.

According to the NTSB, the left wing tip of the Air France jet struck the left horizontal stabilizer of the Comair airplane while the latter was taxiing to its gate. The Airbus had 485 passengers and 25 crew members onboard while the Bombardier was carrying 52 passengers and a 4-people crew.

Authorities will inspect the two aircraft in the coming days to determine the extent of the damage. The Comair plane had just landed from Boston while the Airbus was scheduled to fly to Paris.

On Tuesday, NTSB requested the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from both aircraft as well as the air traffic control tapes and ground movement radar data (ASDE-X).

The recordings content will be reviewed as part of the investigation which also includes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Comair, and the Air Line Pilots Association. In addition, advisors from Airbus, Air France, and Bombardier Aerospace, will assist in the investigation.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-13

Listen to Air Traffic Control during the incident here

http://vgportal.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3523208/Plane-stupid-collision.html

It would appear that the commuter jet was blocked from getting into its parking spot because of ground traffic and the ATC had cleared the AB to move without the commuter jet being clear. The taxiway is fine for a B747 but very very tight for an AB. This is a screw up from ground control and an AF pilot moving too fast.

This is going to cost AF a bundle hotels for the PAX, rebookings and a nasty repair bill. Moving aircraft is always held responsible for a collision of this kind. JFK is going to have to rethink its AB380 strategy and I anticipate an escort for future close taxiing.

BTW, the ATC is barely intelligible with his thick accent.

http://www.youtube.c...eature=youtu.be

Lucky shot from someone filming.

Clip was in the second post too, but didnot work for me.

Edited April 13, 201115 yr by Carib