Japan Airlines Boeing 737-800
Taken by Ricardo Mungarro Fernandez
On the 13th of April at around 16:30 local time, Japan Airlines Boeing 737-800 was spun almost 90 degrees by sheer winds into an airbridge. This incident occurred in Toyko Narita Airport. The empty aircraft was swung horizontally, smashing a light cover that was 7 by 25 centimetres and marking the left wing.
The incident took place in Terminal 2 after Japanese Meteorologists issued an extreme weather warning of heavy rain, storms and tornado gusts. Multiple flights had been diverted later that day to Toyko Hanedo Airport due to these conditions. The plane weighs 50 tonnes as had its front and rear wheels secured by six metal chocks. The wind must have either dislodged these chocks or forced the aircraft over them. However, it is likely that the aircraft kept their breaks on while the wheels were chocked. Many airlines leave their breaks released and their wheels secured during nasty weather to prevent the winds taking control of the aircraft. This hasn’t been confirmed that this is the case with this incident.
The aircraft registered JA310J hadn’t been in service since the 5th of April and had been parked since. Japan Airlines have been reducing their flights and grounding their aircraft over the past 6 weeks to tackle the Coronavirus situation.
Japan Airlines have had multiple incidents with their aircraft colliding with airbridges in the past. These collision have created logistical problems for the airline. Last year, one of their Boeing 787‘s left hand engines struck and scraped the underneath of an air bridge. This incident took place in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after the tug crew took the aircraft past its designated stop point. Another accident took place in 2014, when another one of their Boeing 787 aircraft struck an air bridge in Honolulu International Airport. This left damage to the left engine cowling.
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