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| Date: | Friday 4 December 1992 |
| Time: | 06:45 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-344 |
| Owner/operator: | South African Airways - SAA |
| Registration: | ZS-SAT |
| MSN: | 22970/577 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1983 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 305 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB/FAOR) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
After an overnight flight from South Africa, the crew of SAA234 contacted the handling agent about
30 minutes before arrival time and was allocated B25 as the parking stand. After an uneventful landing on 27R the aircraft turned off the runway and on contacting Ground Control, the crew was again told that the stand was B25. The aircraft entered Bravo parking area and the taxi lights were turned off as the aircraft turned on to the centre line of the stand. The Flight Crew noticed steps in the stand area but, as the Azimuth Guidance For Nose-In Stand (AGNIS) and Parallax Aircraft Parking Aid (PAPA) lights were on, assumed the steps were for disembarkation. Taxi speed was no more than 2 kt and as the aircraft came to a stop, at the correct position according to the AGNIS/PAPA lights, a voice (ground engineer) came on the service interphone telling the Captain to " Cut No 2 engine --- Cut all engines". The Captain did so and on asking the reason, was informed that the aircraft had collided with some steps. At the time it was dark and the stand lights were on.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ec8de5274a1317000129/Boeing_747-300__ZS-SAT_04-93.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/60847 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 20 August 1990 | ZS-SAT | South African Airways - SAA | 0 | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
min |
| Bird strike | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-May-2025 17:03 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 24-May-2025 17:04 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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