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| Date: | Monday 15 January 2001 |
| Time: | 05:38 |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-4H6 |
| Owner/operator: | Malaysia Airlines |
| Registration: | 9M-MPH |
| MSN: | 27044/1041 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1994 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 389 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Boeing 747-400 was scheduled to land at London Heathrow airport (LHR) from a long haul
flight at 0530 hrs, and had been allocated parking Stand J2 at Terminal 3.
Prior to the flight's arrival, a driver from the airline's handling agent positioned three tugs and a
number of baggage dollies side by side to the right (looking from a parked aircraft's cockpit) of
Stand J2 at right angles to the stand centreline. The driver used two white lines painted on the ramp
parallel to the stand centreline to judge a safe distance from the centreline at which to park the
equipment. After positioning the tugs and dollies, the driver adjourned to his supervisor's van,
which was parked elsewhere on the stand, to await the arrival of the aircraft.
The ramp supervisor responsible for parking the aircraft arrived at the stand prior to the aircraft's
arrival and carried out a safety check. He noted the tugs and dollies to the right of the stand and a
'high loader ' vehicle to the left rear of the stand within the stand boundary. None of the vehicles
was manned. Although he could see no stand markings by which to assess safe clearance, the
supervisor judged the tugs and dollies to be far enough to the right of the stand centreline to be
clear of the aircraft, but he was concerned at the proximity of the 'high loader'. He requested that
the 'high loader' be moved, and switched on the Automatic Positioning and Information System
(APIS).
The 'high loader' had not been moved by the time the aircraft arrived at the stand and the supervisor
therefore positioned himself to the left of the stand to monitor the clearance between the aircraft
and the vehicle. As the aircraft turned into the stand, the supervisor satisfied himself that the left
wing tip would clear the 'high loader' and started walking toward the jetty. As he walked he noticed
an engineer run to the APIS controls at the front of the stand and operate the emergency stop
button.
On arrival at the entrance to the stand the aircraft commander noticed that the APIS was lit and that
there was a number of tugs with attached baggage dollies parked on the right of the stand. The
commander judged that there was sufficient clearance between the parked ground equipment and
the aircraft and continued to follow the APIS guidance.
During the approach to the final parking position the commander felt a 'bump' and immediately
brought the aircraft to a halt. The number four engine had collided with one of the tugs and had
pushed it into the other tugs causing the first tug to tip on its side and wedge between the ground
and the bottom of the engine nacelle. Damage was caused to the number four engine nose cowl, fan
cowl, and right reverser sleeve.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f497e5274a13140004ef/dft_avsafety_pdf_502040.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/4485 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 26 June 1995 | 9M-MPH | Malaysia Airlines | 0 | Melbourne Int Airport, VIC |  |
min |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Mar-2025 17:29 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 19-May-2025 01:24 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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