NTSB Factual Report

On January 8, 2001, at 1430 eastern standard time, a Bombardier CL-600-2B19, N784CA, flight number 5212, operated by Comair, sustained substantial damage when an unmanned nine-passenger service van collided with the parked aircraft at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Detroit, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121 and had an instrument flight plan on file. The aircraft was occupied by 3 crewmembers and 30 passengers. One flight attendant and one passenger reported minor injuries. The remaining 31 occupants reported no injuries. The flight was preparing for departure at the time of the accident, and had the intended destination of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Covington, Ohio.

According to an airport police incident report, witnesses stated the unoccupied van rolled backward and impacted the left side of the airplane causing damage. The report stated, "I [the investigating police officer] interviewed the driver [of the van] who stated that the vehicle had been parked about twenty yards in front of the aircraft for about two minutes before the incident. The driver [of the van] stated that he went to check oil fittings and does not know how the vehicle struck the aircraft." The report stated that the captain of the aircraft was interviewed and, "...He [the captain of the aircraft] observed the vehicle drive towards and then strike the aircraft moving the aircraft sideways approx. [approximately] 10 inches."

Post-accident inspection of the 1988 Dodge Ram Van failed to reveal any anomalies that would prevent the normal operation of the vehicle, specifically the parking brake, the column shifter, and the parking gear.

NTSB Probable Cause

The vehicle driver's inadvertent failure to place the column shifter into the parking gear. A factor to the accident was the vehicle.