Distracted truck driver may have caused Ryanair crash

Damage was caused to the aircraft's wing

A collision between a Ryanair plane and an airport passenger assistance truck may have been caused by the vehicle driver being tired and distracted, an investigation has found.

The crash happened when the Boeing 737-8AS, which had right of way, turned towards an aircraft stand following an inbound flight at Stansted Airport, Essex, on 4 October.

The driver of the ground vehicle, who was heading towards a different stand, may have suffered "inattentional blindness", which is when someone fails to notice an unexpected object in clear sight, a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

Both the vehicle operator and the airport authority issued safety notices to drivers regarding safe driving practices.

More than 100 passengers and six crew were onboard the Ryanair aircraft when its right wing collided with the roof of the SideBull Ambulift vehicle, causing visible damage to both.

Assistance vehicles are designed to help disabled and elderly passengers on and off planes

Analysis of CCTV footage from inside the vehicles 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 AAIB found the driver had been involved in a collision with another vehicle six weeks earlier.

'Clearly visible'

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."