Southwest Airlines and Fedex jet clipped wings on taxi

KOB NewsThis is a very short story but if you can, visit the web site and check out the vid... this bump knocked off a six foot section of the wing and in the vid you can see it lying on the ground while you hear the stewardess make her announcement

A Southwest Airlines jet heading to Albuquerque from Salt Lake City was evacuated Sunday after its wing was clipped by a FedEx jet while the two aircraft taxied.

UNM student Russell Jordan was aboard the flight and described the jolt as a mini-earthquake.

“We pushed back off the gate and we just – the whole plane just shook and everyone started freaking out,” he said. “They didn’t know what was going on. Everyone looked out the right side … and there was this chunk of wing on the ground.”

After the incident, all of the passengers were evacuated and put on other flights. Airport officials say no one was hurt and neither plane sustained serious damage.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

Wow imagine that 2 planes taxing and chunks of the wings fall off when hitting another wing...yet on 9/11 wings can fly through steal poles, unfastening screws from the base, and never shed a piece of it's wing.

reply to post by ExPostFacto


Like I said if you can check out the vid. its not the best.. captured from a passangers cell phone but it's still one of those vids that stands out when you see it...

[edit on 30-11-2009 by DaddyBare]

reply to post by ExPostFacto


Its not the whole wing, it looks like a piece of the aileron came off. On 911 pieces of the leading edge came off when they hit the light poles, one of which fell into some ladies car...
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Off topic anyway.

[edit on 11/30/2009 by defcon5]

oh you guys didn't hear?

come to find out the WTC were made out of marshmallows and sunshine... on to the next CT

.

[edit on 30-11-2009 by nine0099thousand]

What I'm saying in the vid you hear the lady announce, "please stay in your seats we are still in an active taxi"! As if they were going anywhere with that hunk of wing lying on the tarmac?

reply to post by DaddyBare


haha thats hilarious.. if I could play vids I would.. but ill take your word for it

reply to post by defcon5


It's a 6 foot section of the wing that fell off. I also think this is on topic as it is discussing how an airplane comes apart with varying speeds.

reply to post by ExPostFacto


If you saw the same video that I saw, the wingtip, which has a winglet on it, was still attached. What came off was the aileron at the rear of the wing. The flaps and Aileron are movable surfaces and are easier to rip off.

reply to post by DaddyBare

There is no reason to NOT taxi back to the gate as long as there is no imminent danger of fire or explosion. Once the fire department is on scene you taxi back, deplane, then move it to where they want it impounded for the investigation. You just clear all actions with the on scene FAA people so you don`t screw up the investigation.

That being said, someone will get canned for this. The ground crew is supposed to ensure clearance of other objects, and the FedEx pilots are supposed to be watching for encroachments.

This happens waaaay more often than anyone truly realizes.
The FAA and the former Bush whitehouse went to unusual lengths to suppress NASA studies of clipping events such as these, and many, many close calls.
NASA study suppressed

[edit on 30-11-2009 by dashen]

reply to post by ExPostFacto

...yet on 9/11 wings can fly through steal poles, unfastening screws from the base, and never shed a piece of it's wing.

Congratulations, you get the prize for most incredible stretch of the imagination, and misrepresentation of facts. Working 9/11 into a simple ground accident? Such a leap...

It looks like nothing more than the #6 leading edge slat laying on the ground, there. On the B-737 thre are three slats on each wing, outboard of the engine, and two 'Krueger' flaps inboard, also on the leading edge.

The slats are numbered, left-to-right...#1, #2, etc. The right most, outboard is #6, On the B-737, anytime you select 'flaps' beyond the 'UP' position, the LE devices will extend also. In flap position 1, 2 and 5 (this refers to the trailing Edge flap position, in degrees) the slats will extend. Beyond 'flaps 5' they will futher extend to a secondary position ('FULL EXT'). This is all automatic, and any anomalies will annunciate to the flight crew.

Obviously, since the video shows the TE flaps extended to what appears, (to me) to be position 5, the LE devices would have also been extended at time of the accident. This is normal as part of the 'AFTER START' checklist, at most airlines, as the airplane is configured for the upcoming takeoff. (Some airlines have a "TAXI" checklist where this configuring is accomplished, depends).

WHEN the LE devices are fully retracted, they are less vulnerable to damage than when they are extended, obviously.

In any case, this minor accident has NO relation to the events of 9/11...to suggest otherwise is simply ridiculous.