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| Date: | Saturday 14 January 2012 |
| Time: | 10:45 |
| Type: |  Airbus A380-842 |
| Owner/operator: | Qantas |
| Registration: | VH-OQD |
| MSN: | 026 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce Trent 972-84 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 478 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was being prepared for departure from Stand 301 at London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3. Weather conditions were dry and clear. A baggage tug, towing baggage containers loaded onto four purpose built trailers, approached the aircraft’s front hold. As it did so, a partly loaded container on the third trolley made contact with the aircraft’s number three engine cowling, penetrating the cowling and also damaging the container.
The ground handling company conducted an investigation. No technical deficiencies were found with the baggage tug, the trailer or the container itself. The investigation determined that the accident arose because the vehicle driver had not followed existing procedures regarding the approach route to the aircraft’s forward baggage hold door. No changes to procedures were deemed necessary, but steps were taken to remind ramp staff of the required procedures and to ensure these were being followed through a system of ramp checks.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f41ae5274a13140004b3/Airbus_A380_VH-OQD_04-12.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7338842 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 2 July 2014 | VH-OQD | Qantas | 0 | near Los Angeles, CA |  |
unk |
| 16 May 2016 | VH-OQD | Qantas | 0 | 1500 km WSW of Dallas, TX, USA |  |
non |
| Lithium battery thermal event | ||||||
| 27 October 2018 | VH-OQD | Qantas | 0 | between Sydney and Los Angeles | |
non |
| Phone Lithium battery thermal event | ||||||
| 15 October 2023 | VH-OQD | Qantas | 0 | 67.2 NM 84.7 degrees from Balgo Hill Aerodrome, NT |  |
non |
| Inflight fire | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Mar-2025 17:11 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 28-Mar-2025 17:11 | ASN | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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