Posted on 04/06/2024 9:01:39 AM PDT by george76
A Virgin Atlantic 787 has collided with a British Airways Airbus A350 while pushing back from the terminal building at Heathrow airport causing minor damage to both aircraft.
The Virgin jet was being guided by a tug when its winglets struck the tail of the neighbouring BA jet.
Emergency services raced to the scene following the low-speed impact.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: 'We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
'The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time.
'We've commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.'
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The British Airways jet had recently arrived in London from Accra, Ghana
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BA said it has provided an alternative aircraft to 'limit the impact on our customers'.
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Luggage handlers were operating in the area of the British Airways jet when the impact occurred.
At least five fire engines attended the scene in case there was any fuel leaks or possible fire.
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Investigators will want to know if there were sufficient personnel involved in the push back from the terminal building, and how the Virgin jet was able to strike the horizontal stabiliser of the British Airways jet.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
A little duct tape and it’ll be as good as new
Nothing seems to be working as smoothly as they used to in the Joe Biden post Covid world.
And it's getting worse, not better.
Yep, it will buff right out.
Ground crews across airports seem to be having problems lately.
But, about the tape. Have you seen the metal tape they use on planes (for non critical repairs?
I actually have an ‘expired’ role.
Maybe the Virgin pilot was not so experienced.
Hopefully the cockpit crew was diverse. That’s all that matters.
It made me think about the movie Major League(1989) the pilot was taping their plane , I think
Hopefully, It's just the learning curve everyone is going through because the Baby Boomer generation is retiring. And it's time for everyone else to pick up the slack now.
Planes collide at Heathrow
Wing tipping is not considered a collision.
You’d think that airport operations would have had enough practice by now to learn how to avoid these problems.
DIE hires
Most of these airports are located based on population density and are thus very expensive places to live, requiring higher compensation levels for employees.
As the value of fiat currency drops, jobs such as these ground crew positions don't pay enough to attract talent.
...not that the third-world replacements will ever have that talent.
What? No wingtip walker?
As the value of fiat currency drops, jobs such as these ground crew positions don't pay enough to attract talent.
...not that the third-world replacements will ever have that talent.
BINGO!
Having worked the ramp for almost 3 years as ready reserve for the flight benefits I can tell you that they pay is low and they hire the lowest common dominator. I worked with only a few who were responsible and those of us who had real work ethics would take up all of the slack.
Ground crew are responsible, especially the wing walkers, are key for moving aircraft safely.
I see what you did there!
“Maybe the Virgin pilot was not so experienced.”
Maybe you didn’t read the article.
“Hopefully the cockpit crew was diverse. That’s all that matters.”
No “cockpit crew”.
“Allision” if it’s like the bridge.
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