Boeing 777 incident near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, SA, April 28, 2013
On April 28, 2013 at about 12:00 pm local time, a Boeing 777, registered HZAK16, suffered minor damage in an incident during standing (engine(s) start-up) near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (King Abdulaziz International airport). It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 2013 · about 12:00 pm local time
- Place
- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia · King Abdulaziz International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 777 300 · all 777s on the register
- Registration
- HZAK16 · no longer on the register · serial 41053
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On April 28, 2013 a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-300, HZ-AK16, equipped with two General Electric GE90-115B engines had been pushed back from the gate and was in the process of starting the No. 2 engine when the engine unexpectedly accelerated to a high power setting. The aircraft moved forward and could not be stopped with the brakes before it hit a parked push back tractor severely damaging the lower No. 2 engine nose cowl. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is investigating the incident. As the state of manufacture of the engines and some airplane components, the NTSB has designated a United States Accredited Representative under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention of Civil Aviation to assist the GACA in the investigation. All inquiries concerning this incident should be directed to the GACA at: General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Safety Department GACA – Safety & Economic Regulations P.O. Box 887 Jeddah 21241 Saudi Arabia Tel.: (966) 2 685-5515 / 5494 (966) 5 04626707 / 48695853 (mobile) E-mail:sd@gaca.gov.sa Fax: (966) 2 685-5507 Website:www.gaca.gov.sa
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Unknown or undetermined during standing (engine(s) start-up)
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: General Electric GE90-115B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Saudi Arabian Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: JED Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Destination: RUH Riyadh
- Flight plan: not recorded
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.