Pilot goes flying
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 12:59 am
No, Seriously.
Just saying, those stairs aren't light - would take one hell of a blast to blow them over, however it isn't exactly the greatest design if another Jets exhaust is pointing directly at an other bay at a close range.Pilot sent tumbling by Qantas jumbo's engine thrust
Matt O'Sullivan
October 20, 2011 - 3:44PM
A VIRGIN AUSTRALIA pilot has been badly injured after he was blown from stairs at the rear of a passenger jet by the engine thrust from a Qantas 747 jumbo, which was taxiing close to his plane.
Safety experts are looking into how the Qantas jumbo came close enough to the Boeing 737, which is operated by Virgin subsidiary Pacific Blue, to blow over the stairs on which the first officer was standing.
The pilot had been conducting pre-flight checks on the 737 passenger jet, which was parked at Brisbane Airport's international terminal, shortly before it was due to take off to Bali on Friday.
The first officer suffered a fractured arm and leg when the aluminium stairs were blown over by the force of the Qantas jumbo's engine blast. The 747 had been taxiing to a runway and was awaiting clearance from air traffic controllers to take off when the incident occurred.
The Qantas jumbo – QF8 – had stopped over in Brisbane to offload passengers while on its way to its final destination of Sydney.
A Virgin spokeswoman said the aluminium stairs to the 737 were blown over several times by the blast of the Qantas engines and the pilot's injuries could have been worse.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel- ... z1bLGv9Jil