An unfortunate incident earlier this week in Denver saw two cherry-picker-type lift machines collide, resulting in the death of a maintenance technician working for United Airlines. Reports indicate that both the airline and the police are investigating the circumstances of the collision, which led to the unfortunate loss of life.

While the Denver Police have identified the events leading up to the collision, the investigation will now be to try and determine the cause of the accident, and the United States Occupational Health and Safety officials will also be involved in investigating this fatality.

The Unfortunate Collision Of Ground Vehicles

Earlier this week, two cherry-picking lift vehicles experienced a ground collision at Denver International Airport (DEN), which unfortunately resulted in the loss of life of one of the vehicle drivers involved. According to The Denver Post, the fatally injured staff member was a maintenance technician working for United Airlines. The US Occupational Health and Safety has also joined in on the investigation, along with United Airlines and the Denver Police Department.

According to reports published by 9News, the crash took place on Thursday, December 18, at 11:40 PM, within the airport property, where two employees were operating separate cherry-picker lift vehicles. Reports indicate that the first lift had stopped moving, leading to the second lift crashing into it, subsequently trapping the operator of the first lift within the wreck. While the operator was freed from the crash and taken to the hospital, the accident would ultimately prove fatal.

United Airlines is working with the police to understand why the first lift stopped. Simple Flying has reached out to United; any response received will be updated in this article. The following comment from United was published by The Denver Post,

« We are working with the employee’s family and coworkers to provide them with support during this time, and we are investigating the circumstances of the accident. »

Airport Operational Ground Safety

Much like flight safety, ground safety is also extremely important within the aviation industry, and the two operations being safe is what makes aviation the safest mode of transport. The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) has listed three indicators to determine the safety performance based on ground occurrences.

For the first indicator, IATA essentially collaborates with other groups to analyze safety events and data to identify hazards, helping form and enhance training procedures, along with evaluating areas of most frequent injuries to then recognize the cause and develop preventive measures.

The second indicator is also critical, wherein damages to the aircraft can compromise the safety of passengers and airport staff, while also affecting airlines with significant financial losses and operational disruptions. IATA’s data indicate that ground equipment is the most common cause of aircraft ground damage, and the annual costs of aircraft damage can reach $10 billion by 2035. Similarly, the third indicator is regarding aircraft loading, which is also critical, as wrong loading data can lead to inefficient flight operations and potentially even a catastrophic crash.

Ground Operations — Critical & Hectic

While an aircraft is on the ground, taxiing, or at the gate, yes, the aircraft is either moving slowly or stationary, but the airport environment is incredibly dynamic, and a lot of things can be happening around the aircraft. This is particularly true at busy airports where aircraft (particularly larger jets) are surrounded by lots of moving parts at the gate. Plus, things can get really hectic if the aircraft is delayed or is trying to achieve everything within its turnaround time, so the aircraft can vacate the gate on time.

The equipment usually seen around aircraft includes the likes of fuel trucks, catering trucks, deicing equipment, pushback tugs, cargo vehicles, and their long-windy trailer for cargo pallets. If the aircraft happened to be at a remote gate, there would also be a few buses to ferry the passengers from the aircraft to the terminal. And if the aircraft happened to be an Airbus A380, there would be additional vehicles, such as an extra catering vehicle to cater to just the upper deck of the aircraft, and more.

Considering this dynamic environment, it is critical to establish clear communication and procedures among flight crew and the ground personnel, but also between different ground personnel, who might be working with each other in close proximity.