LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
ZKNZW
BOEING 747-200
THE FLT CREW OF AN AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 747 RPRTD A NR COLLISION WITH THE TAIL OF A FEDERAL EXPRESS BOEING 727 ON TKOF. DUE TO LACK OF A TAIL LOGO OR STROBE LGTS, THE 727 WAS NOT VISIBLE TO THE 747 CREW TIL JUST BFR ROTATION. THE 747 CREW ESTD THEY VERTICALLY CLRD THE 727 TAIL BY 100 FT. THE 727 WAS BEING PSND FM A CARGO RAMP TO A MAINT FACILITY. THE ACFT WAS BEING TAXIED BY 2 MECHANICS WITH A CLNC FM ATC. ATC TAPES REVEALED THE 727 WAS CLRD ACROSS THE RWY BY THE LCL CTLR, 32 SEC BFR THE 747'S TKOF CLNC. AS THE 727 CROSSED THE RWY, THE MECHANICS SAW A UNITED 767 TURNING ONTO A PERPENDICULAR TWY DRCTLY AHD & THEY STOPPED THEIR ACFT TIL THEY COULD CTC GND CTL & CLARIFY THE SITUATION. TAPES SHOWED THE 767 HAD BEEN TOLD BY GND CTL TO HOLD FOR THE 727 DRG THE TIME THE 727 WAS ON THE LCL CTL FREQ. THE ARPT DESIGN & LAYOUT DID NOT MEET CURRENT RWY SAFETY AREA DIMENSIONAL CRITERIA CONCERNING SEPN OF PARALLEL TWYS FM THE RWY. THE ATC PROC IN USE BY THE TWR DID NOT CONSIDER THE INADQT RWY SAFETY AREA DEMENSIONS.
THE INADEQUATE RUNWAY SAFETY AREA INHERENT IN THE AIRPORT DESIGN, AND, THE ATC CLEARANCE PROCEDURES IN USE WHICH FAILED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE SUBSTANDARD RUNWAY SAFETY AREA. FACTORS IN THE INCIDENT WERE THE DARK NIGHT TIME CONDITIONS AND THE INADEQUATE STANDARDS USED BY ATC TO DETERMINE CLEARANCE PROCEDURES AT AIRPORTS WHICH DO NOT MEET CURRENT DESIGN CRITERIA.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
Aviation Accidents App
In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports
