A collision between a Ryanair plane and a vehicle at Stansted Airport may have been caused by the latter’s driver being tired and distracted, an investigation has found.
The report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) also revealed that he may have experienced “inattentional blindness”, which is when someone fails to notice an unexpected object in clear sight.
The crash happened when the man, who has not been named, was driving a passenger assistance vehicle along a road at the Essex airport towards an aircraft stand on October 4 last year.
Some 103 passengers and six crew were onboard the Ryanair plane, which had right of way as it turned across the road towards a different stand following an inbound flight.
The plane’s right wing collided with the roof of the vehicle, causing visible damage to both.
Analysis of CCTV footage from inside the truck during the moments before the collision found the driver made “no obvious glances” through the left window towards the plane, and only appeared to notice it about five seconds after it started to turn.
He performed an emergency stop and began to reverse, but was unable to get out of the way.
No-one was injured.
The driver had been involved in a collision with another vehicle six weeks earlier, the AAIB said.
The report stated: “The driver was relatively inexperienced in the airport environment and his account and history suggested that he found it challenging.
“The driver reported that it had been a busy morning and he felt annoyed about the way that jobs were allocated.
“Although the number of tasks was consistent with the time of year and not unusually high, this individual driver was potentially feeling fatigued by the workload that day and distracted by his emotional response to the last-minute tasking.
“These factors may have reduced his performance.”
The report added: “The inattentional blindness phenomenon may account for the driver not seeing (the plane) even when it was clearly visible.”
The vehicle operator and the airport authority both issued safety notices to drivers regarding safe driving practices.
