Easyjet A320 and KLM B737 collide at Schiphol
 

Full story at airlive

A KLM spokesperson said the aircraft hit each other during the ‘pushback’.

KLM Boeing 737-800 was ready to leave for Madrid and the easyJet plane was on its way to London.

Story link with photo is here

Well the Sun is in no doubt as to whose fault it was. :O

Video: EasyJet plane with Brit tourists on board crashes into aircraft at Amsterdam airport

WTF were the two tug crews thinking ?

Controller error, he says so himself on the frequency. He wrongly thought one of them (I can't remember which now) was at a different gate and thus cleared both to push.

Wow, being wrong on so many levels at the same time in one sentence.

The controller gave push back clearance to both aircraft. Apparently he did not realise that this Easyjet flight was departing from the D pier and not the H pier, where Easyjet normally operates from. Off course the pushback drivers could have still prevented if they had realised it, but to their defence, the view from the push back truck isn't that good.

Cost cutting and minimum crews for every element of the operation means this sort of thing is inevitable. The tug driver, if working alone already has plenty to be keeping them occupied. Would it have happened with wing men? Unlikely - but they cost more money.

It is OK. I am sure this is considered (with a conservative occurrence probability) when the decision is taken to reduce staff to minimum. Everyone is doing their job.

So two tug drivers each have a clearance to push back - it's not an instruction. Each driver still needs to be satisfied it's safe before they move the aircraft. I bet wing walkers will seem less costly now!

Error yes, but I don't think responsibility.

Unfortunately it is his responsibility. He and only he issued the pushback clearance.

Ignorant question: were both tug drivers on the same frequency?

In my day it was the captain of the aircraft who received push back clearance and then communicated that to the engineer on the intercom who then communicated it to the tug driver. Is it different now?

Yes the controller issued a clearance, however, the clearance does not constitute an instruction to push back. 'Same as "you're cleared for takeoff" is a clearance, not an instruction. ATC does not say to a pilot: "takeoff now". It is up to the pilot to determine that it is safe to takeoff, and begin when he/she is ready, and has a clearance. I can't see how it's different for a tug driver - "you're cleared to push back [when it safe to do so]" - if the tug driver chooses to wait to not run over a ramp hand, or wait for a baggage cart to be moved, or another jet to be out of the way, the tug driver is doing his job properly.

I can see that. However, I would expect the tug driver is trained to expect that the clearance to push back reflects the Controller's monitoring of objects that s/he is aware of i.e (principally) other airframes.

The tug driver will be responsible for the safety of the action vis a vis objects unknown to the Controller, as you say, but the prime control over aircraft movements sits with Ground Operations no?

I can't say how tug drivers are trained, though I'm imagining some refresher training coming up soon, but, whenever I have moved a plane (either as a driver, or a pilot), I have satisfied myself entirely about a safe area, before I move. That might include a wing walker I trust, and can see directly.

Not where I work.
Schipol seems to have a different procedure.

So how does it happen where you work? And does your profile including UK mean that you work in the UK?

"I've been cleared to push"?

"As I was pushing, it suddenly got harder"?

"WTF was that crunching noise?"?

Push approved.....not a clearance. The onus is squarely on the tug crew to make sure there is nothing in the way. Controller made an error...but if you remove wing walkers....well I sort of wonder who did the risk analysis for that and how they mitigated it.