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Tug driver reported their drive-by-wire tug lost all steering due to a malfunctioning computer.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1340974 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201603 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | No Aircraft |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Vehicle Driver |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
After moving aircraft from hangar spot to the gate; I was pulling away from aircraft; stopped to let my partner in tug; and then proceeded to leave gate. Had to stop because steering in the tug locked up; could not turn steering wheel. This tug is a hybrid with drive by wire technology. I was able to regain steering by turning off tug and recycling the computer. The problem came up again some 50 feet later when I stopped again. Had this happened while towing an aircraft there would have been major damage to an aircraft as well as injury to employees.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Tug Driver reported their drive-by-wire tug lost all steering due to a malfunctioning computer.
Narrative: After moving Aircraft from hangar spot to the gate; I was pulling away from aircraft; stopped to let my partner in tug; and then proceeded to leave gate. Had to stop because steering in the tug locked up; could not turn steering wheel. This tug is a Hybrid with drive by wire technology. I was able to regain steering by turning off tug and recycling the computer. The problem came up again some 50 feet later when I stopped again. Had this happened while towing an aircraft there would have been major damage to an aircraft as well as injury to employees.
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.