Source :Update: YUL worker struck by plane’s nose wheel during pushback, union says
Posted on 08/26/2026 6:19:22 AM PDT by Red Badger
A ground crew worker at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport has died after reportedly being struck by an aircraft on the tarmac Monday evening.
The flight, operated by French bee, collided with the man while backing up on a runway at around 7:30 p.m., just before its scheduled takeoff to Paris.
The man, later identified as 39-year-old Oscar Robayo, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
In an update, officials said the injuries were life-threatening.
“The employee, acting as a wing walker, fell directly in front of the aircraft’s nose gear,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos wrote.
“The aircraft, stranded due to prior technical issues, was preparing for a ferry flight. Emergency services responded immediately; the plane remains grounded pending investigation,” it added.
CBC shared further:
According to the IAM, he was a ramp agent with Samsic Airport, which also provides baggage handling as well as passenger services at the Montreal airport.
The plane involved in the incident belongs to the airline French bee and was scheduled to leave for Paris at 6 p.m. ET on Monday.
“At this stage, the exact circumstances of the accident, which occurred during the aircraft pushback operation, remain to be established,” wrote French bee’s director of public affairs, Vanessa Boucher, in a statement to CBC.
According to the airport authority, emergency measures were deployed around 7:30 p.m. Robayo was then rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
“The loss of a member of our airport community affects us all deeply,” the airport authority wrote in a statement Tuesday, calling the incident a “tragic workplace accident.”
Radio-Canada is reporting that the flight in question was originally scheduled to leave Montreal on Sunday but was postponed.
French bee said it’s cooperating “with the relevant Canadian authorities” as the tragic incident is investigated.
“Passengers and crew members on board the aircraft are safe and sound. They are currently being cared for by French Bee and airport staff,” the airline said, according to PEOPLE.
“As a part of the @yulaeroport community, we are devastated to learn of the tragic accident at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. On behalf of our employees, we extend our deepest condolences to the family, loved ones and colleagues of the Samsic employee,” Air Canada wrote.
PEOPLE has more:
One passenger on the French Bee flight claimed to Radio-Canada that she saw a man pass under the plane while it was moving.
“Many [passengers] were screaming,” she recalled to the outlet of the frenzy that took place after the incident.
The incident disrupted several flights for several hours, Radio-Canada reported. However, airport operations returned to normal as of Tuesday, Aug. 25, per CBC and The Montreal Gazette.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada, an independent agency that investigates air travel incidents, is investigating the incident, according to CBC and Radio-Canada.
Aviation ping..............😥
He was told.
Pilots that can’t drive get to fly a plane ?
Pretty sure they teach them that the pilot cannot see you under the plane...
Ground crew who can't see a plane get to walk around planes?
Planes do not taxi very fast. Get out of their way.
Passengers and crew members on board the aircraft are safe and sound.
These two statements sound inconsistent to me. Was it a ferry flight or was it in revenue service?
And why was it 1) backing down a runway and 2) why did it need a wing walker on the runway?
Something may have gotten lost in a translation from French to English here.
Was he texting?
Was the aircraft backing up under its own power or being pushed back by a tug? Article just states the aircraft was backing up.
Source :Update: YUL worker struck by plane’s nose wheel during pushback, union says
A ferry flight with passengers?
Trump does this. Trump does that. Man allegedly gets hit by plane??
DEI hire?
Hahaha it makes me think of the movie “A Fish Called Wanda” where the guy’s feet are stuck in cement and gets run over by a steamroller!
Not that this guy getting killed is funny, but your GIF, always appreciated by me, did bring that up!
Ariana Huffington, “Well they were going there anyways!”.............
Was being pushed back...........
I was an air traffic controller, for a lot of years. I would never allow an aircraft to back down a runway, nor would I allow people access to the runway
I hope planes, like industrial trucks, beep beep when they’re in reverse.
Yes. As someone who, in a former life, spent a great deal of time around airplanes taxiing in close quarters, it is 100% contingent of any individual ground crew person to stay out of the way.
If this person was close enough to trip and get his foot caught resulting in his death, that is wholly human error on his part and nobody else’s.
Also-how, when an aircraft is being pushed back, did the guy get behind the nose gear? I have a hard time processing that, because no person should, in my experience, be in a position to trip, fall, and be run over by the nose gear as a plane is being “pushed back”.
Even personnel near the main mounts should NEVER be so close that they could trip and be run over. Granted, if you are holding chocks, you need to be near enough to get into place to insert the chocks, but even then, I would imagine no closer than ten feet away while the plane is in motion, for a plane that big.
When it stops, and you get the go-ahead, you move closer and insert them.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this...and I admit, I don’t know what airlines train them in or how they do it.
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