Following a ground incident last year at Stansted Airport involving a Ryanair aircraft being pushed back onto a blast fence by a tug operator, the AAIB has completed its investigation and released a bulletin with its findings and conclusions.
Though in this instance, none of the passengers or crew members onboard were injured, the aircraft did experience damage to its tail, impacting the fuselage around the tail cone and the APU. The damage to the aircraft was substantial enough that it remained grounded for over two weeks while the damages were undoubtedly repaired and inspected.
The Ground Collision: More Details
As per the report published by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the incident occurred on August 21, 2024, when a tug operator was pushing back a Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Ryanair at 
London Stansted Airport (STN), had the aircraft’s nose landing gears were pushed beyond the Tug Release Point (TRP), resulting in the underside of the aircraft tail colliding with the blast fence.
As per the report, the tug operator at the time of the incident had a trainee operator also onboard the tug and was giving advice on performing pushbacks and looking at the trainee during the process. Other contributing factors include a statement from the tug operator stating that the TRP markings on the ground were not prominent underneath the aircraft fuselage, and the fact that, amid the process of pushing back the aircraft and explaining things to the trainee, the wingman walking along the tug was out of the field of vision of the tug operator.
The airline’s 737-800 aircraft’s tail cone and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) were damaged on impact. Data from FlightRadar24 shows the then seven-year-old aircraft was grounded in STN from August 21 until September 6. The report further states,
« Following the accident the tug instructor’s employer conducted a breath test for drugs and alcohol on the instructor. This was negative for drugs and was below a relevant alcohol limit for persons performing ground roles. »
Ryanair Boeing 737 Collides With Fence After Landing In Greece
Despite damaging one of its winglets in the incident, the aircraft involved reentered service the following day.
Conclusions & Corrective Actions Taken
A key point mentioned in the report is that task prioritization is important and that the ground crew during such critical phases of operations must remain vigilant, maintain situational awareness, and must be prepared to act in case of any abnormality. The document also states that if at any point during operations a member of the pushback team feels « uncertain », they should cease operating the tug immediately in order to rebuild situational awareness.
Additionally, in this case, both the tug operator and the wingman/headset operator noted that the TRP markings on the ground were obscured and not too visible. This has resulted in the airport improving the visibility of the marker. While previously it was a half-meter-long line to one side of the taxiway center line, this has now been lengthened to cover a full meter to each side of the center line.
The ground handling organization also stated that the staff are encouraged, regardless of role or authority, to challenge any aspect of the operation if they deem it to be unsafe and that the staff are trained to focus on the job at hand to avoid distractions. It is also reported that since the incidents, the organization has issued reminders to all ground staff about TRP procedures, which have been incorporated into training modules for relevant roles.
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
A common phrase heard across the aviation community, particularly among pilots! Aviation, Navigate, Communicate. This phrase essentially sets the priorities for pilots to follow when flying, especially if operations become abnormal. Regardless of the situation, the first priority for pilots is to fly the aircraft (Aviate).
This ensures that, no matter what happens, the first thing a pilot does is to gain control of the aircraft and fly the aircraft, after which the flight crew can proceed to navigate the aircraft and communicate with control towers and any other relevant parties. The emergency procedures followed in the flight deck are based on this mantra. For example, in case an aircraft stalls, the pilot’s first task is to recover the aircraft. Only after this is the pilot obligated to resume their previous course of flight and communicate regarding the stall to the control tower/other pilots in the airspace.
The AAIB report states that this concept can be translated to even operations, such as using a tug to push the aircraft. In this situation of operating an aircraft tug, the order of priority does not change.