American Airlines Flight 80

An American Airlines, Boeing 767-323, Flight 80, collided with an American Airlines B-767-223, N328AA, which was stopped on the International Ramp at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Both airplanes received minor wing damage. N328AA was being repositioned by two mechanics from gate M-3 at the International Terminal to the domestic side of the airport. They received a push back clearance from the Inbound Ground Controller. The airplane was pushed back onto the ramp facing north and was waiting for traffic to clear before taxiing. Flight 80 was cleared by the Ground Metering Controller from gate K-19 to Runway 32R via the Bravo Taxiway. As flight 80 taxied north on Bravo, its right wing contacted the left wing of N328AA. The flight crew reported that they saw N328AA, but did not think the airplane was a factor. The left wing of N328AA and the right wing of Flight 80 were both over hanging a green painted 'grass' area on the ramp when the collision occurred. The fuselage of N328AA was on the movement side of the 'nonmovement area' and its left main gear was on the taxiway centerline. Flight 80 was facing north on the Bravo Taxiway with its nose gear approximately 3-feet left of the taxiway centerline. A 1993 letter regarding ramp control guidelines states, 'Due to the close proximity of the International gate positions M1-M3 to the Outer Taxiway [Bravo], only O'Hare ATCT [Air Traffic Control Tower] will issue clearance to and from these gate positions.' O'Hare ATCT personnel reported that even though they provide pushback clearances from gate M-3, they do not prevent other traffic from using taxiway Bravo when a pushback is in progress as they do with pushbacks from M-1 and M-2. Inspection of the international ramp area and interviews with ramp personnel revealed there is not sufficient ramp space to push back from gate M-3 and remain clear of the movement area, cross taxiways, and vehicle traffic lanes.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset