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An A320 was being pushed at dusk in a confined area when one of its sharklet wingtips hit a B757 tail because the wing walker did not warn of the collision and also the new wingtips are very high off the ground.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1259509 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201505 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Winglet |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict Ground Conflict Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
Pushing back; hooked up to tug; off gate; approximately 1/3 of the way through pushback the aircraft made a shudder and came to an unusual stop. I immediately asked the tug driver if everything was ok. He replied his wing walker let him hit a B757 tail. We set the parking brake and secured the aircraft. [This gate] is extremely tight to operate in. Extreme caution needs to be used in and out.the flight was an empty ferry flight. The aircraft had less than normal fuel; no bags or passengers and new sharklet wings. This makes for a very high wing tip off the ground. Also; the red eye flight landing that morning; departing that same night; only allows for 4-5 hours of circadian sleep. While able to operate per the 117 rules; lack of sleep does not allow for 110% clear focus. This type of pairing should be reviewed.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An A320 was being pushed at dusk in a confined area when one of its Sharklet wingtips hit a B757 tail because the wing walker did not warn of the collision and also the new wingtips are very high off the ground.
Narrative: Pushing back; hooked up to tug; off gate; approximately 1/3 of the way through pushback the aircraft made a shudder and came to an unusual stop. I immediately asked the tug driver if everything was ok. He replied his wing walker let him hit a B757 tail. We set the parking brake and secured the aircraft. [This Gate] is extremely tight to operate in. Extreme caution needs to be used in and out.The flight was an empty ferry flight. The aircraft had less than normal fuel; no bags or passengers and new Sharklet wings. This makes for a very high wing tip off the ground. Also; the Red eye flight landing that morning; departing that same night; only allows for 4-5 hours of circadian sleep. While able to operate per the 117 rules; lack of sleep does not allow for 110% clear focus. This type of pairing should be reviewed.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.