Air Senegal A319 still out of Service following a recent Push-Back incident at Barcelona International Airport
After close to four days now, Air Senegal A319 has not yet resumed operations after the Barcelona International Airport push-back incident. On August 30th, 2022, Air Senegal Airbus A319 (6V-AMB, built 2007) received minor damage when its left wingtip struck a catering truck during pushback from gate 129 at Barcelona-Intl Airport (LEBL), Spain.
The incident happened as the flight crew was preparing to fly a return flight to Dakar, Senegal. All passengers and crew were reported safe, and the passengers were later boarded onto a replacement aircraft. The aircraft involved in the incident still sits on the ramp undergoing repairs.
The 15-year-old aircraft had recently arrived from Dakar’s Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS). Operating under flight number HC423, the uneventful trip had taken 4 hours and 13 minutes. The plane had been turned and was being pushed out to fly flight number HC424 from BCN back to DSS.
After it hit the catering truck, all passengers and crew were deplaned. All persons onboard the aircraft and ground personnel were found safe and accounted for. The passengers were later flown to Dakar on a replacement aircraft. The aircraft remains at BCN today, and no indication has been given as to when it will return to service.
Air Senegal has not stated any official cause for the incident. However, the fault will likely be attributed to the ground personnel, given that the airplane was under tug power at the time of the incident. Most times that an aircraft is being moved in a busy environment, there will be wing walkers on each side of the aircraft. Their job is to walk below the wingtip with the aircraft to ensure that it does not hit anything. They also need to be within sight of whoever is operating the pushback so that they can alert them of any potential hazards.
It is unclear whether the ground crew was utilizing a wing walker on the airplane’s left side or not. The catering truck looks like it was there before the aircraft began its pushback, meaning that the crew either wasn’t using a wing walker or communications between the wing walker and tug driver were unclear. Once the wing hit the catering truck, the pushback driver made the correct decision and stopped pushing the aircraft.
It is currently not clear when the Airbus A319 will resume operations but efforts are currently underway to repair damaged parts and flag it off to facilitate it normal resumption of operations.
