Ground Collision, Lion Air (Boeing 737-900 Pk-Lfo); Mopah Airport, Merauke, KNKT.23.01.02.04

On 26 January 2023, a Boeing 737-900 ER registered PK-LFO was being operated by PT. Lion Mentari Airlines (Lion Air) for schedules passenger flight. The crew member of the flight consisted of Pilot in Command (PIC), Second in Command (SIC) and five flight attendants.

After the flight preparation had been completed, the SIC requested start engine clearance to the tower controller and was approved. The tower controller also advised the pilot that the runway in use was Runway 34 and instructed to report when the pilot was ready to taxi the aircraft.

Both pilots then performed start engine procedure. During the engine start up activity, the pilot was assisted by two ground personnels consisted of an aircraft engineer and a ground handing officer.

At 09:03 LT, SIC requested taxi instruction to the tower controller and was instructed to taxi to Runway 34 via Taxiway B. The tower controller also provided the pilot with Air Traffic Control clearance to Jayapura and was readback by the SIC. The aircraft operator did not utilize towing tractor, and the taxi maneuver conducted using aircraft power. When the aircraft was ready to taxi, the aircraft engineer and ground handling officer were moving to apron service road as the aircraft would be maneuvered to the left to Taxiway B.

At 09:04:04 LT, PIC increased the engine power and the aircraft started moving forward. Four seconds later, the aircraft started turning to the left.

At 09:04:11 LT, the tower controller instructed the pilot to report when the aircraft was ready for the departure and the SIC readback the instruction. About 30 seconds later, the right wingtip of the aircraft impacted terminal building. Both pilots heard an unusual sound but not exactly known the source of the sound. Both pilots also had not been aware that the aircraft impacted the terminal building and continued taxiing to the Runway 34.

Passengers who seated near the right wing noticed that the right wingtip of the aircraft impacted terminal building. The passenger then informed one of the Flight Attendant (FA) which then relayed the information to the SIC.

The PIC who monitored the communication between SIC and FA, asked the tower controller to check any damage on the right wingtip of the aircraft. The tower controller responded that no damaged of the wingtip was observed as the tower controller also did not aware of the collision. About 20 seconds later, tower controller received information from airport personnel that the aircraft impacted the terminal building and relayed the information to the pilot. The PIC then decided to return the aircraft to the apron.

The investigation is continuing, should any further relevant safety issues emerge during the course of the investigation, KNKT will immediately bring the issues to the attention of the relevant parties and publish as required.

The KNKT acknowledges the safety actions taken by the aircraft operator and considered that the safety actions were relevant to improve safety, however there still safety issues remain to be considered. Therefore, the KNKT issued safety recommendations to address safety issues identified in this report to the airport operator.