>These kinds of incidents are happening more and more frequently and it’s not just a case of more being reported on due to media scrutiny.<
No. These incidents happen more than you realize. It just gets reported in the media more. Almost all, if not every one of them, involve a ground crew towing an airplane.
Years ago airlines required a crew to tow an airplane. Now most of it is done with a two man SuperTug crew. That’s the one that lifts the nosewheel up in a cradle, not using a towbar.
With passengers there is a larger crew with wing walkers, a driver, and a “monkey on the headset”.
I finished a 41 year career without any bent metal. It’s not that hard.
EC
Have seen a lot of mistakes over my career. Some really serious and even tragic.
Once saw a GE 90 engine and it's transport cradle get knocked off a semi when the trucker went the big engine hit the bottom of under a too small clearance underpass. which was a very expensive and easily avoidable mistake.
These incidents really are becoming more and more common.
Reasons range from poor leadership and poor supervision from management, breakdown of formal systems and procedures, cost cutting and scheduling pressure and it's impact on maintenance, turnover of skilled and experienced people combined with a lack of similarly capable replacements, general supply chain break downs and degradation of quality control across the board and now the imposition of DEI policies on workforce.
Things simply are not working as well as they used to and it's beginning to take it's toll.