LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
N93106
BOEING 747-131
DURING DARKNESS, A BOEING 747, N93106, WAS BEING TAXIED FOR DEPARTURE WHEN ITS LEFT WING COLLIDED WITH THE RIGHT WING OF A BOEING 767 BEING TOWED IN THE SAME DIRECTION ON A PARALLEL TAXIWAY. BOTH CREWS HAD OBTAINED GROUND CONTROL CLEARANCES TO PERFORM THEIR RESPECTIVE OPERATIONS. IN THE AREA OF THE COLLISION, THE TAXIWAYS DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT SEPARATION FOR SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS OF WIDE-BODIED ACFT & STANDING PROCEDURES FOR GROUND CONTROLLERS PROHIBITED SUCH OPERATIONS. THE GROUND CONTROL POSITION WAS BEING WORKED BY A DEVELOPMENTAL CONTROLLER IN TRAINING UNDER SUPER- VISION OF A FULL PERFORMANCE CONTROLLER. THE ACFT BEING TOWED WAS BEING MOVED FROM GATE 75 WITH THE CALL SIGN 'UNITED 75 TOW.' THIS CALL SIGN WAS DERIVED BY USING THE COMPANY NAME (UNITED), THE GATE NUMBER (75), & THE WORD 'TOW.' WHILE IT WAS BEING TAXIED, UNITED FLT 75 OBTAINED CLEARANCE TO TAXI, BUT THE CONTROLLERS SAID THAT THEY DID NOT GET THE CALL SIGNS CONFUSED.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
Aviation Accidents App
In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports
