Ground vehicle strikes the right wing during pushback
At 14:20 local time a Kenyan-registered turboprop with an MTOM of 29,000 kg is on the stand at Nairobi with 46 passengers boarded and a 15:05 slot to Mombasa. The aircraft is stationary with the brakes set while a catering truck manoeuvres alongside. The lift platform strikes the right wing leading edge about 1.2 m outboard of the engine nacelle, leaving a 22 cm dent. The skin is not punctured, there is no fuel leak, no fire and nobody is injured, but the leading edge is visibly deformed. The line engineer states that the dented skin must be replaced, which will take about 26 hours. The duty manager asks the commander to record it as "minor ground damage, no report required" so that the flight can be dispatched after a visual inspection and the schedule protected. The aircraft has an operating CVR and FDR, and the commander must decide what to do next.
1. Classify this occurrence under the ICAO Annex 13 definitions. State the test you applied and where this event falls, and say why the absence of injuries does not settle the question.
Read the worked answer
The Annex 13 definition of an accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, between the time any person boards with the intention of flight and the time all such persons have disembarked, in which:
- any person suffers death or serious injury, or
- the aircraft receives substantial damage.
Only the second limb applies here. Substantial damage is damage or structural failure that adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics, and that would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component.
Applying that test:
- The item damaged is a primary lifting surface, not an antenna, wingtip, brake or tyre, so the standard exclusions do not cover it.
- The engineer's own assessment is that the leading-edge skin must be replaced. Replacement of a structural component is the wording of the definition.
- A dented leading edge changes the aerofoil section locally and is not a cosmetic defect.
Conclusion: this is an accident, not an incident. The correct instinct is to ask "is the structure affected and will a component be replaced?", not "was anyone hurt?".
2. What are the commander's and the operator's obligations after this event, including notification and the treatment of the recorders and records?
Read the worked answer
Commander, immediately:
- Stop the dispatch. Ensure nobody is hurt, the truck is clear and there is no fire or fuel hazard.
- Protect the evidence: photograph the damage, note the truck identity and driver, take names of witnesses.
- Preserve the recorders. The CVR is continuous and will overwrite itself; pull and collar the CVR circuit breaker (or otherwise remove power) in accordance with company procedure and tag it. Do not erase anything, and do not let maintenance run the aircraft or test the recorders. The FDR and QAR data and the tech log, load sheet and flight documents are equally part of the record.
- Notify the operator's duty manager and the maintenance organisation in writing; the verbal "no report required" request has no standing.
Operator, through the accountable manager: notify the investigating authority of the State of Occurrence (in Kenya, the KCAA/AAID) immediately by the most expeditious means. Because the aircraft is heavier than 2,250 kg, the State of Occurrence in turn notifies ICAO and the States of Registry, Operator, Design and Manufacture. A preliminary report follows within 30 days, and the aircraft should not be moved without the investigator's agreement.
The commander's duty is to the occurrence, not to the slot.
3. The duty manager proposes dispatching the aircraft after a visual inspection because "the dent is small and the flight is short". Evaluate that proposal using airworthiness principles and the commander's authority.
Read the worked answer
The proposal fails on several independent grounds.
It is not an MEL item. An MEL defers listed equipment; it does not cover structural damage to a lifting surface. Nothing in the dispatch documentation allows a commander to accept a dented leading edge.
A visual inspection is not a release to service. Return to service requires either an approved repair under the Structural Repair Manual (or an approved design change), certified by the appropriate personnel, or - if the aircraft must be moved - a special flight permit (ferry authorisation) issued by the State of Registry with the associated operating limitations. Neither exists here.
Nothing is gained. The aircraft is at its main base with maintenance available and a 26-hour repair. A ferry flight from base to base with a known structural defect would add risk and paperwork and would not protect the schedule.
Command authority. The commander has final authority over the aircraft and may refuse to fly it, and that authority cannot be delegated to, or overridden by, a duty manager. The correct answer is a polite, recorded refusal: "The aircraft is unairworthy for this flight; I am not dispatching it." Document the decision in the tech log and let the commercial department rebook the passengers.