NTSB Factual Report

On October 29, 2010, about 1545 eastern daylight time, a Boeing 737-7CT, Canadian Registration C-FWAQ, operated by WestJet Airlines as flight 1058, was substantially damaged while parked at a gate at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 2 foreign certificated pilots, 4 flight attendants, and 136 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL), Montreal, Canada. The foreign scheduled passenger flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129.

According to a safety investigator at the airline, the airplane had parked at the gate and about half of the passengers had deplaned. At that time, a ground service vehicle backed toward the airplane to service the aft lavatory. A guide man signaled the driver to stop the vehicle for a brake check, which he did. The guide man then signaled the driver to resume backing, and subsequently signaled the driver to stop the vehicle in the service position about 3 feet from the airplane's fuselage. The driver stopped the vehicle; however, before he could put it into park, his foot slipped off the brake pedal and onto the accelerator, which resulted in the vehicle further backing into the airplane and a 12-inch by 6-inch tear in the fuselage that included stringer damage.

Also noted, was that the driver was "twisted around" to see the guide man, that he was not wearing required work boots, and that a rubber cover had come off the brake pedal at some point.

The KFLL recorded weather, at 1553, included scattered clouds at 4,100 feet, visibility 10 miles, and no precipitation.

NTSB Probable Cause

The ground service vehicle driver's depressing of the accelerator rather than the brake pedal, resulting in a collision with the airplane.