Inspection Detail

Inspection: 105707194 - United Airlines

Inspection Information - Office: Va-E-Manassas (Regional Office)- Safety 0355114

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:15 a.m. on March 21, 1989, Employee #1 was using a cargo tractor to go from midfield terminal gate D3 to gate C22 to get rainpants. It was raining steadily as he traveled east just south of the A0A vehicle traffic lanes. At the same time, a Plane Mate mobile lounge #650 Texas was traveling east on taxiway R-1 with a load of passengers destined for gate D3. Taxiway R-1 and the A0A vehicle traffic lanes run parallel with the A0A vehicle traffic lanes adjacent to and south of taxiway R-1. Airport right-of-way regulations give priority to aircraft mobile lounges over cargo tractors. The mobile lounge continued southeast across the vehicle traffic lanes and then turned right, proceeding southwest toward gate D3. The cargo tractor struck the right rear wheel of the mobile lounge and overturned. Employee #1 was ejected from the cargo tractor and struck by the mobile lounge. He died instantly due to severe crushing injuries. A witness stated that the employee appeared to be looking back over his left shoulder and did not see the mobile lounge before the collision. Causal factors related to this accident appear to have been Employee #1's failure to look where he was going and his subsequent failure to yield the right-of-way to a higher priority vehicle.

Keywords: EJECTED, TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, VEHICLE, AIRPORT, WORK RULES, COLLISION, STRUCK BY, INATTENTION, OVERTURN