China Aircraft Services was fined HK$440,000 on Wednesday after being convicted of three safety breaches linked to a fatal accident in 2024 at Hong Kong International Airport, where a 34-year-old Jordanian mechanic fell from a tractor and was hit by the aircraft being towed.
The deceased, Mohammad Hamad Ali Al Araidah, was a licensed mechanic employed by the defendant company.
In the early hours of the incident on February 6, 2024, he was part of a four-member team towing a Greater Bay Airlines Boeing 737-800. As the headset man, he was seated in the open rear compartment of the tractor, monitoring the rear dashboard camera, and was later found dead on Taxiway H of the airport apron. He was suspected of not fastening a safety belt while working on the truck.
China Aircraft Services pleaded not guilty to the three court summonses, including failing to provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work, failing to provide necessary information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure the safety of employees and failing to develop, implement and maintain a safety management system.
They appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday. During the trial, the defense called experts to testify that such an incident was extremely rare and had never occurred in Hong Kong.
They argued that the towing method used is a simple procedure consistently employed internationally and that the runway was flat and unobstructed.
They added that the deceased had completed overseas training and had been provided with training materials by the defendant, which should have seatbelts were mandatory in the rear seat of the tow truck.
The defense contended that the deceased had stood up in the rear seat, leaned out of the vehicle to use a flashlight on the dashboard camera without wearing a seatbelt, an act unforeseeable by the defendant.
In his verdict, Magistrate Gary Chu Man-hon noted that from common sense, maintenance procedures involving heavy aircraft -- such as one weighing 40 tonnes -- necessitate caution, as the runway is not exclusive to the defendant and could have other users.
He added that no prior similar accidents did not imply a simple procedure. Even if the mechanic had received training abroad, the defendant should have provided re-training tailored to Hong Kong International Airport’s environment.
Citing Boeing’s aircraft towing guidelines, Chu noted that aircraft and ground staff must have an instant communication method.
Rejecting the defense expert’s claim that tow tractor drivers required no communication, he believed that the defense had misinterpreted Boeing’s guidelines and the defendant had failed to comply with them.
He concluded that with a safe working system, where both the aircraft and ground crew are equipped with walkie-talkies, emergencies could be promptly communicated, ensuring that the tow truck driver would be aware of any incidents behind them.
He ruled the defendant guilty on all three summonses. Considering the defendant had prior convictions for two of the three summonsed offences, Chu imposed a total fine of HK$440,000.
