Menzies stars: David Badillo
30 November 2020
Menzies’ focus on ramp safety meant that we had plenty of great suggestions for this year’s GHI Pride of Ground Handling Ramp Safety Award. We submitted David Badillo, from Mexico City International Airport (MEX), as our official entry into this year’s awards.
While working on a pushback operation, David noticed a broken shear-pin on the towbar he was using to bring an aircraft out of the hangar. David applied his five years’ experience as a driver, as well as his training in hazard awareness and the airport push towing process, when he realised that that the aircraft could become detached from the towbar and cause extensive damage to the tow truck and to the aircraft.
David immediately stopped the pushback and contacted the aircraft brake driver, with the result that the aircraft and tractor were stopped safely. Aircraft maintenance were called to assess the situation and the incident was reported internally (using Menzies’ MORSE reporting platform) and to the airline and airport authorities.
David’s quick action and compliance with operating procedures not only prevented a serious accident, but also prompted a review of the lifecycle of shear-pin on towbars.
The analysis identified that a runway-crossing was equivalent to five cycles and the short tow was equivalent to just three. The cumulative wear on the bolt was also analysed, and the team realised that 420 cycles equated to 75% of the shear-pin’s lifetime (and the maximum break condition).
Understanding this has allowed the team to reassess the lifecyle of the shear-pin. A shear-pin replacement programme is now in place, with weekly inspections and information about the condition of each shear-pin being logged in a shared spreadsheet. Since applying the new lifecycle monitoring process, there have been no reportable incidents, no damage to aircraft and no injuries.
Additionally, the Menzies Driver Training module has been updated to include this example of a near-miss. The training has been rolled out to other airports with similar runway conditions to those in Mexico City.