Embraer EMB-145LR N17560 accident near Newark, New Jersey

Probable cause

the failure of flight 908's captain to ensure adequate clearance between the wingtip of his airplane and flight 4226's empennage when he attempted to pass behind the other airplane.

NTSB analysis

Flight 4226 was stationary on the taxiway with the parking brake set and was facing away from flight 908 at the time of the collision. Flight 4226 flight crew parked on taxiway R between taxiway M and taxiway Y. They were told to hold short of taxiway Y to give way to a B737 that would be passing on taxiway Y. It could not be determined where on taxiway R the airplane was parked, but to conflict with flight 908's wingtip, the airplane would have to be closer to taxiway M rather than closer to taxiway Y.

Since taxiway M would have been behind flight 4226's airplane, the crew most likely was not completely aware of how far ahead of taxiway M or how much clearance they were leaving behind them when they parked. If the airplane was parked with the airplane's longitudinal axis on or parallel to the centerline of taxiway R, the crew would not have been able to see flight 908's left wingtip or judge its proximity to their airplane before the collision.

If the crew of flight 908 had requested flight 4226's crew to taxi forward to provide adequate clearance, there would have been sufficient space on taxiway R for flight 4226 to move forward in order to ensure clearance between both flight 908 and the approaching B737. However, the crew of flight 908 did not make any communications request for flight 4226 to move their airplane forward on taxiway R.

As a result, flight 908 sustained minor damage to its left winglet and flight 4226 sustained substantial damage to their empennage due to the captain misjudging the clearance distance. The crew of flight 908 could see flight 4226's airplane parked ahead of them on taxiway M, and their statements indicated that in the turn they were concerned about whether they had sufficient clearance to taxi past the aircraft. The captain stated that he was focused on clearing the wing of the ExpressJet and neglected to focus on clearing the tail of the parked aircraft. If an anti-collision aid had been installed on flight 908's airplane, it may have prevented the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DCA13FA082 for the full record.