Was riding high in a deicing bucket (about 18 years ago) to verify that top of horizontal stab on a B727 had been properly deiced prior to dispatch.
My partner (driving the cherry picker) and I lost communication with one another and as we approached (from the rear) the back of the aircraft, he failed to hear my
command ,
call ,
SCREAM to stop.
My bucket collided with the LH elevator and rode up on top of the tail. Now we stopped
!
Nobody was hurt but 136 unfortunate passengers headed for the sunny south had to disembark as this plane was no longer fit for flight. People work hard for their vacations and I have always felt bad about that day and delaying the start of their holidays.
The airplane itself wasn't too badly damaged (elevator tab if I remember correctly) and was back in service the following day. Less than a week later, the deicing center was provided with new communication equipment.
I like think that since that day, I have done my best to prevent unnecessary delays using astute troubleshooting techniques and proper maintenance practices.
3my