Cyclic Hotline
5th Jun 2001, 04:07
Jets Collide at Dulles
Trouble on the tarmac at Dulles International airport is raising concerns tonight. ABC 7 has learned that just after 6:30pm yesterday, two jumbo jets collided on the ground, damaging both aircraft and delaying hundreds of passengers.
According to eyewitnesses, a Lufthansa 747 was pushing back from the gate on the first leg of its flight to Frankfurt. A United 777, just in from Los Angeles, was taxiing behind it-- and its right wing clipped the tail of the 747. There were more than 600 passengers and crew aboard the jumbo jets.
Catholic University Professor Aaron Barkatt was on the Lufthansa flight. He said he felt a slight jolt when the two planes collided: "Slight jarring, light jarring, yes. I heard a cracking sound, and in another 2 or 3 seconds I think I heard a second cracking sound."
According to Barkatt, the airport was not busy. "As far as I could see, the airport was not very busy at all. There were very few planes around," he reports.
Ground crews discovered the United 777 had four feet of damage to its right wing, and the 747 had skin damage to the tail. Just before engines were shut down Lufthansa's pilot said both planes had significant damage.
The FAA (news - web sites)'s former Chief of Staff Michael Goldfarb said that the incident was serious, but could have been much worse if wing fuel tanks had punctured, spilling thousands of gallons of high-octane jet fuel.
"It is not a good scenario and could lead to fire and other kinds of serious problems. So we dodged a bullet in effect by having this result without loss of life. But it could have been far worse," he warned.
The accident is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites). They have been warning airports for the past several months of a growing danger of runway and taxi-way collisions due to congestion.
Trouble on the tarmac at Dulles International airport is raising concerns tonight. ABC 7 has learned that just after 6:30pm yesterday, two jumbo jets collided on the ground, damaging both aircraft and delaying hundreds of passengers.
According to eyewitnesses, a Lufthansa 747 was pushing back from the gate on the first leg of its flight to Frankfurt. A United 777, just in from Los Angeles, was taxiing behind it-- and its right wing clipped the tail of the 747. There were more than 600 passengers and crew aboard the jumbo jets.
Catholic University Professor Aaron Barkatt was on the Lufthansa flight. He said he felt a slight jolt when the two planes collided: "Slight jarring, light jarring, yes. I heard a cracking sound, and in another 2 or 3 seconds I think I heard a second cracking sound."
According to Barkatt, the airport was not busy. "As far as I could see, the airport was not very busy at all. There were very few planes around," he reports.
Ground crews discovered the United 777 had four feet of damage to its right wing, and the 747 had skin damage to the tail. Just before engines were shut down Lufthansa's pilot said both planes had significant damage.
The FAA (news - web sites)'s former Chief of Staff Michael Goldfarb said that the incident was serious, but could have been much worse if wing fuel tanks had punctured, spilling thousands of gallons of high-octane jet fuel.
"It is not a good scenario and could lead to fire and other kinds of serious problems. So we dodged a bullet in effect by having this result without loss of life. But it could have been far worse," he warned.
The accident is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites). They have been warning airports for the past several months of a growing danger of runway and taxi-way collisions due to congestion.