Not too long ago, I was looking after B747 Classic Freighters at LGG. Following a night arrival, I noticed that the Door 1 stairs were incorrectly positioned & requested that they be re-positioned. Knowing that the crew were still upstairs, I told the handling guys that I would go & stand in the open doorway to prevent an accident of the type we are discussing here.
As I lifted my leg to climb into the doorway, the stairs shot out from under me, powered by a frustrated Belgique F1 driver & his small tug. My lifted foot hit the fuselage below sill level, & I was going down. My guardian angel got my hands onto the floor-mounted side rail just inside the door in the nick of time; the stairs were gone in a flash. I'm now dangling in free space above the concrete, but with the strength born of fear I pulled myself up into the jet & lay there gasping like a beached whale.
My subsequent one-way chat with the handling guys required the extremeties of my vocabulary & would make a Trooper blush. I was well bruised in the legs & not walking well for a week or so ( I was just about to start my rostered-off time! ).
Lessons learned:
Even after 40yrs in this business, I can still get bitten.
I will never go up a stairs again that is hooked up to a tug.
I was bloody lucky not to get badly hurt/totalled.
I must expect the unexpected from some Ramp staff.
Stay safe out there; more people die on Airport Ramps than in the mining industry, I believe............