Final Report: Baggage carts, CRJ collided

Bombardier CRJ (CL-600-2D24), Las Vegas, April 30, 2006–Northwest Airlines ground service personnel failed to set the parking brake properly on the lead baggage cart, which crashed into a Mesa Airlines CRJ taxiing for departure at McCarran International Airport, the NTSB determined. The Mesa pilot had reached an intersection and spotted the runaway baggage carts rapidly approaching. He swerved the airplane about 50 feet to the right of the centerline to avoid being hit. The lead baggage cart struck the airliner’s left wing and wedged between the wing and taxiway surface. The airplane sustained substantial damage, but none of the 89 occupants was injured.