Aurigny Air Services aircraft ATR 72 collided with truck at Manchester airport in UK. The aircraft was under tow to runway with 60 passengers en route to island of Guernsey, but its wing contacted with truck servicing the onboard kitchen. Following the accident the truck received a hole into the cargo area, while aircraft did not suffered visible damages. However, the flight GR673 to Guernsey was cancelled until further inspection of the aircraft’s wing.
None of around 60 passengers or crew on board the ATR 72 twin turboprop were hurt by the impact which happened as the aircraft was being moved back from the stand by a tow-truck.
“We can confirm that the aircraft touched the vehicle during the towing. The incident is minor, no one was hurt, and now we are conducting an investigation involving a third party”, said representative of the Manchester airport. According to him, the incident did not affect the airport’s schedule.
The passengers were taken back into the terminal building to wait while Aurigny organised a replacement aircraft from its base in Guernsey. The airline is also sending engineers to assess the damage and investigate the incident with airport officials.
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR, a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia.
