It seems an airport van collided rather hard with the engine of a Dragonair Airbus A330 airliner in Hong Kong yesterday. The driver reportedly suffered head injuries.
What I can't figure out is how it happened at all. It's almost as if the driver rammed the plane deliberately - unless his vehicle got sucked into the engine air intake, and if so, he should never have been that close to it. See for yourself.
What on earth was he thinking?
Peter
12 comments:
That driver drove right into the engine.
Texting while driving? The plane starts to move right after impact, so I'm guessing they throttled up to taxi and the van got sucked in.
Looks like he got sucked... and was texting...
As you mention, wat was he doing so close to a moving aircraft?
Probably not a medical emergency or it would've been mentioned in the story, I think, so he was absorbed in his phone. He won't get another chance to do that at that company, I'm sure.
From the video if he had not got ingested by the engine he would have run into the main trucks.
It looked like the plane had started moving before he hit it. It does look like he was sucked in, based on the radical direction and speed change. Whatever the case, I think the driver will be looking for a new job after the "Legal Remedy".
Yep, plane is obviously moving, stopping and starting several times before the van arrives, and he got sucked into it. Shouldn't have been there, of course.
"Damn! First I get fired from my avionics job at Malaysia Air, now I lose this one due to a little fender-bender!"
--Tennessee Budd
Anybody notice that the rear wheel is missing?
That the rear wheel came off is not surprising. That particular one would have the highest loads imposed, both vertical and horizontal. Shearing the mounting lugs would be easily done in this case.
The air being sucked into the inlet of a jet engine is moving at speeds that are only found in hurricanes. Over the years the airforces of the world have lost many airmen who were sucked off their feet into jet engines.
Vehicles must never cross in front of a taxiing aircraft or go behind one with engines running. Here's a humourous lesson about engine exhaust. Notice that only #2 and #3 engines are at full power in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ9uWsvR1l0
Al_in_Ottawa
From El Paso, a few years back. This is what happens when a mechanic walks too close. Warning! Graphic.
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=60975
Glen in Texas
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