A Ryanair plane carrying nearly 190 people suffered substantial damage after colliding with a barrier at London Stansted Airport, according to a newly published Air Accidents Investigation Branch report.
The incident occurred on August 21, 2024 while the Boeing 737 was being manoeuvred by a ground tug whose instructor was preoccupied with coaching a trainee driver.
All 181 passengers and six crew members escaped injury when the plane struck the protective fence, which shields surrounding areas from engine exhaust.
The airport’s fire service responded to the scene following the collision.
The tug was initially operated by a trainee, who turned too early and subsequently made multiple corrective manoeuvres before coming to a halt.
Her instructor, seated beside her, then assumed control of the vehicle.
According to the AAIB report, he “continued to reassure and advise the trainee while performing the pushback, looking at her while doing so”.
This distraction meant the aircraft’s nosewheel travelled beyond the tug release point markings on the ground, where the plane should have stopped.
The airport’s fire service responded to the scene following the collision
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PAThe plane consequently struck the blast barrier, causing damage to the rear of the aircraft.
Blue Handling, a ground handling team from facility management provider ABM, carried out the manoeuvre.
The instructor told investigators he was “focusing on speaking to the trainee” when he drove past the tug release point.
He also noted the ground markings were “not very prominent” and were “obscured” underneath the aircraft.
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The trainee explained she remained silent when her instructor failed to stop because she was “assuming he must have known what he was doing”.
Following the crash, the instructor underwent drug and alcohol testing, which he passed.
Since the incident, Stansted has implemented safety improvements to prevent similar accidents.
The length of tug release point markings has been doubled from 50cm to one metre and they are now painted on both sides of centre lines rather than just one.
This was not the first ground incident involving a Ryanair aircraft at the major European transport hub.
In 2023, a Ryanair plane collided with a passenger assistance vehicle on an airport road.
The aircraft’s right wing struck the vehicle’s roof, according to reports.
An AAIB probe into that incident determined the plane had right of way and concluded the vehicle’s driver may have been fatigued and distracted.