Qatar Airways Group Q.J.S.C Flight 8141

Qatar Airways flight 8141 struck a light pole with its right wingtip while taxing to parking at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (KORD), Chicago, Illinois. The 2 pilots on board were uninjured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The non-scheduled international cargo flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129 from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (KATL), Atlanta, Georgia, to KORD. After landing runway 10C at KORD, the tower controller instructed the accident airplane to taxi off the runway via taxiway F followed by a left turn onto taxiway P, and to contact ground on 121.75. The ground controller verified the flight was cargo and instructed the aircraft to continue to taxiway CC and hold short of runway 10L. Shortly after the hold, they were cleared to cross runway 10L, instructed to hold short of taxiway K, and told to contact ground on 121.9. According to air traffic control (ATC) audio, the ground controller instructed the accident airplane to turn left on taxiway K and taxi via taxiway BB to taxiway BB2 to taxiway Z. While taxiing down taxiway BB2, the right wingtip contacted a light pole in the central deicing area adjacent to the taxiway.

Figure 1. Airport diagram zoomed into the area of aircraft collision with light pole - with taxi route (green line) and accident location (yellow star) superimposed onto the airport map. The Qatar Airways crew had access to information on the taxi limitations on taxiway BB2. The FAA chart supplement valid for the time of the accident stated in the airport remarks on the 2nd page that taxiway BB2 was closed “to wingspan more than 118 ft.” Additionally, an airport notice to air mission (NOTAM), valid at the time of the accident, designated that taxiway AA between taxiway K and taxiway U as a non-movement area between June 5 and October 15, 2022. The crew reported reviewing NOTAMs prior to leaving their departure airport and the captain was referencing the airport diagram on his electronic flight bag during the taxi since this was his second time at the airport and the first time for the first officer. Taxiway BB2 was on the southern border of the central deicing facility for the airport. The area on taxiway BB2 where the accident occurred (between taxiway Z and taxiway AA) was considered a non-movement area as part of the central deicing facility and was not to be used to route taxiing aircraft. Facility SOPs noted that “all non-movement areas will be depicted on the ASDE-X as a restricted trait area (YELLOW BOX)” At the time of the accident, the ASDE-X depicted a yellow restricted trait area for the central deicing pad, however the restricted area on the display did not extend to taxiway BB2, despite the taxiway’s classification as a non-movement area.

Figure 2: Screen capture zoomed into the area of impact at the time of event from the FAA legal recording playback of the ASDE-X display processor. The accident aircraft is shown as an orange airplane symbol, and the restricted trait area is shown within the hashed yellow box. (Source: FAA)

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset