Boeing 737 C-FWAQ

Summary

On 29 October 2010 at about 19:45 local time, a Boeing 737 registered C-FWAQ, operated by WestJet, was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. 142 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 October 2010 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int (KFLL)

Coordinates

26.0728, -80.1528

Aircraft

Boeing 737

Registration

C-FWAQ

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

WestJet

Operating rule

Part 129: Foreign

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montreal → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11LA044

Nobody was injured.

The ground service vehicle driver's depressing of the accelerator rather than the brake pedal, resulting in a collision with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was parked at the gate and about half of the passengers had deplaned. At that time, a ground service vehicle backed toward the airplane to service the aft lavatory. A guide man signaled the driver to stop the vehicle for a brake check, which he did. The guide man then signaled the driver to resume reversing the vehicle, and subsequently signaled the driver to stop in the service position, located about three feet from the airplane's fuselage. The driver stopped the vehicle; however, before he could put it into park, his foot slipped off the brake pedal and onto the accelerator, which resulted in the vehicle further backing into the airplane. During the impact, the airplane incurred a 12-inch by 6-inch tear in the fuselage, which included stringer damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.