So there I was minding my own business in row 9F on the flight from Las Vegas to DFW. As we landed the message on my phone says we have been moved from gate A 29 to A 22. No problem, we will be off the plane in a few minutes.
Taxiing in was normal, and so we pulled in to our gate. Unluckily I was not looking out my window until the last second when suddenly I noticed the lady who was marking the edge of our wing running towards the front of the plane with her arms crossed above her head. The plane stopped but it was too late. The wing of our 737-800 at gate A22 had hit the wing of the 787 at gate A21 next to us.
(Please excuse the clarity of the photos, there was a lot of reflection from the lights on inside our plane)
Then there was a lot of movement by ground personnel. Many people stood under and took photos of the impact site. We were not able to deplane as they initially said that the bridge could not connect.
I presume this was true because if we had stopped short of our designated spot the bridge would have been out of position.
One by one vehicles arrived, different people got out and took photos and then drove off.
This is the first picture of the accident site I took. A bit dark but you can see how the 737 wing is into the 787.
Then this one guy arrived with a powerful flashlight and so I was able to get clearer pictures.
This picture is the clearest as you can see the light giving me more detail.
The 787 at Gate A21 was loaded with passengers and on its way to São Paulo. By the time we got the bridge moved into place and attached to our plane the shades on the 787 were all down and most of the people had left the plane. Our plane was supposed to go onto Atlanta but that wasn’t going to happen either. We then left our plane and went to the baggage carousel. The bags took at least 30 minutes to arrive. That seemed longer than normal so we presumed there was a delay with removing the bags because of accident protocols.
It was interesting to watch the procedures that took place after the accident. I am not sure if the lady marking our outer wing was at fault but it shows how important those people are.
I am trying to understand how this was allowed to happen. The gates around A 21 all seem to be made for 737-800’s and A321 style planes. The fact that they had a 787 flying international at one of those gates and didn’t have specific procedures in place to make sure that the plane parking next to it did not impact it is unusual.
If you have been involved in an accident while you were on board please comment below. It will be interesting to hear.
The only incident I can remember ever happening to me was on a winter flight from BUF, the plane was being de-iced and the de-icing fluid being sprayed onto the fuselage somehow knocked the emergency exit window in. This was close to 20 years ago and I don’t remember all the details, but I do know a maintenance crew came aboard, managed to fix the window and we were on our way to DCA.
Thanks Jinxed, I wonder if modern rules are stricter and they might take such a plane out of service for checking these days..
I remember once after we were boarded they said we would have delay while they changed a tyre. We just sat on board, didn’t feel anything and then about 35 minutes later we were on our way.
I guess damage takes a plane out of service but maintenance doesn’t.