Miami International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Miami, Florida 33166
Friday, September 13, 2002 18:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Prior to the incident date, the tow tug driver had not towed an airplane in 6 years. Additionally, prior to the incident tow he had not received recurrent tow training since being away from the ramp for the previous 6 years. On the date of the incident, he towed 4 airplanes before the incident tow. Additionally, he had never received training in, nor towed the incident make and model airplane prior to the incident tow. American Airline’s procedures did not require tow training for a Boeing 777 airplane if the tow was conducted for maintenance, and the person had wide body tow training. The tow training curriculum for a Boeing 777 was not in place at the time of the incident. Additionally, the tow tug driver reported that he was not familiar with markings on the ramp which specified wide body airplanes were required to use spot 6C, not 6S, or 6N, which was covered by a NOTAM issued in August 2001. The purpose of the tow was to reposition the Boeing 777 airplane from a gate to a maintenance hangar; the tow tug driver did not brief the tow crew about the tow. Just before the tow began, the American Airlines Tower Coordinator (Tower Coordinator) advised the brake rider that the airplane was cleared to push 6 center out. The brake rider reportedly relayed the same instructions to the tow tug driver but he (tow tug driver) reported he was not advised what route to follow. The tow began with wing walkers, then as forward motion began, they left the tow. The airplane began following the line 6S and at that time, communication between the Tower Coordinator and brake rider began; the Tower Coordinator advising the brake rider that the airplane was being towed on line 6S instead of 6C. The brake rider advised the Tower Coordinator he knew, and had attempted to communicate with the tow tug driver and also flashed the airplanes landing and taxi lights numerous times in an attempt to get the tow tug drivers attention. The tow continued on line 6S, and the tow tug driver elected to stop the airplane short of spot 6, as he had not heard from the brake rider. He got out of the tug and noted the headset cord was lying on the ground, the male end was still connected to the airplane. He was then advised of damage to the tow airplane and damage to the rudder of an Boeing 737 airplane parked at gate E34 with passengers on-board awaiting pushback. The captain of the Boeing 737 parked at the gate reported that he and the first officer were going through the checklist and with the parking brake engaged, they felt a movement. He then had the jet bridge brought back in position, exited the airplane for inspection, and noted the damage to the rudder. He also noted the Boeing 777 was 150 feet west of his airplane on the "south tow line.' The passengers were then deplaned from his airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the tug driver to maintain wingtip clearance with a parked airplane, and the inability of the tug driver to communicate with the brake rider during a tow operation following failure of the headset cord. Contributing factors in the incident were the inadequate aircraft/equipment by the airplane manufacturer for failure to provide a strain relief point for the headset cord and failure of American Airlines to disseminate information to the tug driver related to markings on the ramp.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 9/13/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1810
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Miami
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33166
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 254736N
Event Location Longitude 0801726W
Event Location Airport Miami International Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KMIA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 8
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1756 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KMIA
Elevation of weather observation facility 8
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 26
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 105
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15942
NTSB Notification Source Miami-Dade Aviation Dept.
NTSB Notification Date Sep 13 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1842
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Miami, Florida

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N939AN
NTSB Number MIA02IA167
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing
Aircraft Model 737-823
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 30083
Certified Max Gross Weight 146300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 189
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name American Airlines, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4333 Amon Carter Blvd., # 5569
Aircraft Owner City Fort Worth
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76155
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code AAAL
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight International
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger/Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KMIA
Departure City Miami
Departure State --
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MPTY
Destination City Panama City
Destination State --
Destination Country PM
Specific Phase of Flight Standing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 26 2004 11:58AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --