Seems the new technology for United did not work too well...
United Airlines officials said one of the company's new dual-door jet bridges malfunctioned and struck the wing of a United 757 at Denver International Airport today as it was positioning to unload the plane around noon.
None of the 176 passengers and eight crew members of United flight 965, which had arrived from Boston, were injured, United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.
Passengers and crew exited the plane through the functioning front door and bridge, she said.
In September, United said it was leading the airline industry in introducing fully automated dual-end jet bridges at DIA, which allow the boarding and de-planing of passengers from front and rear doors simultaneously.
United has five of the dual-end jet bridges at DIA, McCarthy said. They are computer-guided and driven, and use a combination of artificial vision and sensors to locate the plane's doors and drive the front and rear bridges to their docking positions, according to information United released last year.
The unit's rear bridge, the one that malfunctioned, is supposed to travel over the wing to dock with the plane's rear door. The devices are made by Dewbridge Airport Systems and carry the trade name DoubleDocker.
United owns the jet bridges, but DIA maintains them, McCarthy said. "We're doing a complete investigation with the airport and the manufacturer" to find out why the bridge hit the wing.
"We're still trying to figure out exactly what happened," DIA spokesman Steve Snyder said.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5558605