Aircraft damage during ground handling

What this relates to:

This concerns collisions with ground handling equipment (such as baggage conveyor belts, passenger stairs or vehicles), as well as improper handling (for example when opening cargo hold doors). Damage during ground operations occurs only on stationary aircraft and may compromise operational safety due to its possible impact on structural integrity.

Example:

The ground crew approaches the parked aircraft with the passenger boarding bridge to dock. The passenger boarding bridge collides with the aircraft and damages the fuselage. The aircraft must undergo maintenance before it can fly again.

Remarks on the 2024 figures:

Although the rate of incidents per 10,000 aircraft movements increased by 21%, the number of incidents in this domain remains very low. This is true for absolute numbers, with only 59 incidents recorded on Swiss aerodromes in 2024, as well as the ratio, with 0.51 incidents per 10,000 aircraft movements (compared with 0.43 in the previous year). Of the reported incidents, 93% were related to commercial air transport and the remaining 7% to general aviation. This large difference is due to the fact that most aircraft requiring ground handling services are operated commercially.

In commercial air transport, narrow aircraft stands are often the main cause of incidents as the slightest lapse of concentration can quickly result in damage to the parked aircraft. In the majority of cases (93%), the damage occurred during container loading or during the docking phase of the pas-senger boarding bridge or passenger stairs. In general aviation, damage is more likely to occur while hangaring aircraft.
Of all reported incidents in this category, 95% involve minor damage such as paint chips or scratches, which after technical assessment were found not to impact flight safety.

Back to table of contents