Plane hits bus, LAX, 2/10

Does anyone know which one was at fault? Aren't ground vehicles usually supposed to yield to airplanes, or is that just an OWT/only when the airplane is operating under it's own power?
 
Ground vehicles are supposed to yield, but every airline pilot has a host of stories where they've had to hit the brakes to avoid a driver not paying attention (I know the plane was under tow here). The buses at LAX have always been terrible about it.
 
Years ago I was taxiing a Cessna 170 across IAD. As I'm coming up to the place where the mobile lounges being used as interterminal shuttles cross the taxiway I slow down as one of these two story monsters is bearing down on us. The instructor in the right seat says, no you have the right of way, so I keep going. The owner of the plane happened to be in the rear seat and she reaches up and kicks on the the strobes. It was then the lounge driver sees us and slams on the break.. You could see people falling over through the lounge windows.
 
Seems ground accidents are becoming more common,most could be avoided. Is it a training issue or are people just becoming more complacent?
 
frfly172 said:
Seems ground accidents are becoming more common,most could be avoided. Is it a training issue or are people just becoming more complacent?
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Last summer I watched out the window of the plane that I was on as we clipped another plane while we were getting pushback service. I haven't seen any official reports, but to me it seemed that the wing walker didn't ensure that we had room to clear the other plane that was at the gate next to us.

I saw that it was going to happen before we collided. I took video of us being separated after sitting there for about an hour that made a couple of the local news services.
 
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Don't have any data one way or the other, but I don't think it's any more common - we hear all sorts of things during human factors class in recurrent that never makes the news. I think what's more common are people capable of shooting video, and how social media is how 'news' tends to be disseminated these days.
 
Buses are much more maneuverable on the ground than a plane (especially one under tow). Also difficult to imagine how a bus driver would miss seeing the big white airplane in front of them.

If folks on airports drive like folks on the highways (I suspect they do) then it's understandable how these things happen. We're not a nation of courteous drivers ...
 
Doesn't the ramp controller handle these movements?
 
sarangan said:
Doesn't the ramp controller handle these movements?
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Not at most places. Ramp typically handles airplanes under power (or pushing back). Everybody else is obliged to give way. Depending on where they were, they might not even be a place where there is ramp control. The "remote gates" that use these buses doesn't have it. There's only ones around the fingers of the terminals.
 
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