Air France's A380 clips Comair CRJ at JFK

[dicko]

The associated press has reported that the French airbus was taxiing at a very high speed for "safety reasons". Apparerntly the aircraft was being chased by an 85 year old German women with a water pistol.

When questioned by the NTSB the French Captain said ... "I surrender".

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

Just like a French pilot always getting some nice tail.

Lol.... Best quote so far.

 

[mamba20]

Did you notice how quickly he stopped?

Yeah, hitting another plane does that. Im sure he used a significant amount if right tiller too.

 

[Erlanger]

Has anyone listened to the ATC tapes? The controller tells AF to hold short of a taxiway and AF taxied through it hitting the RJ and secondly when AF called to taxi the ground controller asked him if he wanted an escort. AF turned it down. The RJ was waiting for a gate and stopped. I don't care where the RJ stopped; clearly the AF crew is responsible for their wing. Being dark and raining sure didn't help. Btw, last October, an AF A380 hit another plane in Paris. Clearly they have issues with taxing and their wingtip clearance. At LAX it's mandatory for an A380 to have an escort. You can expect this to be implimented at JFK now I'm sure.

 

[eelb53]

Maybe it's not this simple, but seems as though when you get an aircraft with the physical dimensions of the A380, an airport should make accommodations within the movement areas before the aircraft begins serving said airport.

If you have a taxiway adjacent to a ramp area, wouldn't you predetermine what sort of clearance you would need between the wingspan of an A380, and the aircraft in the ramp area? I assume this wasn't an unusual taxi routing for the 380, and that it is typical for CRJ's to be on the fringes of the ramp awaiting gates. Unless the CRJ was holding where he shouldn't have been, it seems like an airport problem to me.

 

[pilot error]

I wonder if the airport authority is not ending up being in the hot seat. As far as I remember staying on taxiway centerline guarantees you (wingtip) clearance of all obstacles. If the CRJ was indeed parked at a marked position, and the AF A380 was on centerline then it is time to take out the popcorn.

Regarding the French criminal case against CO, you do know that some "southern-style engineering" was applied to the DC-10, don't you?

From aim-

Ideally, the aircraft should be kept centered over this line during taxi. However, being centered on the taxiway centerline does not guarantee wingtip clearance with other aircraft or other objects.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I bet only one of those planes gets fixed, and the other goes to the scrap yard. The owner though (DL) may get some insurance money.

OYS

You think the 380 is totaled?

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Maybe it's not this simple, but seems as though when you get an aircraft with the physical dimensions of the A380, an airport should make accommodations within the movement areas before the aircraft begins serving said airport.

If you have a taxiway adjacent to a ramp area, wouldn't you predetermine what sort of clearance you would need between the wingspan of an A380, and the aircraft in the ramp area? I assume this wasn't an unusual taxi routing for the 380, and that it is typical for CRJ's to be on the fringes of the ramp awaiting gates. Unless the CRJ was holding where he shouldn't have been, it seems like an airport problem to me.

I agree with you in part but just because your nose wheel is on the yellow line that doesn't mean your clearance job is done, specially since in most wide body A/C's (don't know specifically about the A380) you can't see your wing tips. Lets speculate that the RJ was indeed too far out from its parking space, still the responsibility to make sure that there was ample clearance falls on the AF captain.

 

[Dornier 335]

From aim-

Ideally, the aircraft should be kept centered over this line during taxi. However, being centered on the taxiway centerline does not guarantee wingtip clearance with other aircraft or other objects.

You as the pilot are ALWAYS responsible for your aircraft. That AF captain is totally at fault.

yes and no. In the FAA's paradise of aviation laws there's also a FAR that specifies aircraft clearances on taxiway to stationary objects (parked aircraft, buildings etc).

 

[barnyard]

It's pretty amazing how all that force spun the RJ around like that but didn't break off the tail!

I bet if it was a smaller Airbus product sitting there the tail would have snapped right off.....