Fuel Truck Takes Out 2 American Eagle Aircraft at DFW

bob75013 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:21 pm

I can only guess the driver impacted the wing of aircraft 1 while in reverse, shifted into forward gear, and hit the gas too hard causing the truck to hit aircraft 2.
Aicraft 2's wing "impaled" the windshield and cab of the truck.

It's a twofer.

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/fuel-truck-dfw-airport

OB1504 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:24 pm

That’s probably not how you’re supposed to refuel planes.

I can confirm that, for best results, the truck should not come into contact with the aircraft.

My guess is that the driver hit the wingtip of the first airplane while backing up without a guideperson (never do this!), and when he realized that he hit the airplane, he started moving forward to get away and was looking back at the airplane he’d damaged instead of looking forward at the airplane he was about to drive into.

448205 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:30 pm

Two Mesa CRJ's, impacting MESA's already poor performance.

bob75013 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:47 pm

Actually there are two videos in the link. The second shows the result of the incident. The first shows the incident.

Apparently the driver was driving towards what I called aircraft 2 and swideswiped what I called aircraft 1 - before fully impacting aircraft 2.

Thunderboltdrgn · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:49 pm

OB1504 wrote:
That’s probably not how you’re supposed to refuel planes.

I can confirm that, for best results, the truck should not come into contact with the aircraft.

My guess is that the driver hit the wingtip of the first airplane while backing up without a guideperson (never do this!), and when he realized that he hit the airplane, he started moving forward to get away and was looking back at the airplane he’d damaged instead of looking forward at the airplane he was about to drive into.

Well, then how do you get the fuel from the truck to the plane?

ericm2031 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:58 pm

Varsity1 wrote:
Two Mesa CRJ's, impacting MESA's already poor performance.

Didn’t they already have 2 A/C out last quarter for similar situations? I remember them talking about it in length as their new agreement with AA is heavily reliant on performance now, and those 2 A/C brought performance down considerably.

gatibosgru · Wed Nov 27, 2019 4:18 pm

Varsity1 wrote:
Two Mesa CRJ's, impacting MESA's already poor performance.

Mess-a can't catch a break.

Polot · Wed Nov 27, 2019 4:23 pm

Thunderboltdrgn wrote:
OB1504 wrote:
That’s probably not how you’re supposed to refuel planes.

I can confirm that, for best results, the truck should not come into contact with the aircraft.

My guess is that the driver hit the wingtip of the first airplane while backing up without a guideperson (never do this!), and when he realized that he hit the airplane, he started moving forward to get away and was looking back at the airplane he’d damaged instead of looking forward at the airplane he was about to drive into.

Well, then how do you get the fuel from the truck to the plane?

By putting a hose in contact with the plane. If you are using the truck you are doing it wrong.

N292UX · Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:29 pm

One of them may we a W/O. The one of the right won't be.

ikramerica · Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:56 pm

Dammmmm! He hit the 2nd wing hard.

PSU.DTW.SCE · Wed Nov 27, 2019 6:01 pm

Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

goosebayguy · Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:31 pm

My guess is that the front L1 door is damaged too on the second aircraft. The Jetway moves a fair distance.

ltbewr · Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:41 pm

It appears that the driver of the fuel truck was trying to avoid a truck going in the opposite direction to their right, pulled over to the left and into the planes.
I am quite sure investigations have started with the NTSB and local authorities, including a medical and drug check of the drivers of both vehicles and if proper procedures were or not followed by the drivers and others. Likely the drivers involved has been suspended from their duties and if found to be at fault, they will be disciplined up to being terminated. That is a considerable amount of damage, loss of aircraft being available on a one of the most critical travel days, likely claims/lawsuits filed by the aircraft owners and operators.

william · Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:45 pm

No doubt the fuel vendor has insurance for incidents like this, but would hate to be DFW manager that has to make that phone call and make out a report.

Mesa is like " ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!".

AA just wants two aircraft to cover the Waco and San Angelo flights.

Fuel Driver, "Google Assistant, where is the unemployment office?"

alasizon · Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:15 pm

william wrote:
No doubt the fuel vendor has insurance for incidents like this, but would hate to be DFW manager that has to make that phone call and make out a report.

Mesa is like " ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!".

AA just wants two aircraft to cover the Waco and San Angelo flights.

Fuel Driver, "Google Assistant, where is the unemployment office?"

Allied probably has insurance but there are big cut-outs of what it doesn't cover. One of the big ones is excessive driver negligence which barring a medical/mechanical issue this would fall under as the approach path was nowhere what they should be.

goosebayguy wrote:
My guess is that the front L1 door is damaged too on the second aircraft. The Jetway moves a fair distance.

No doubt. The door, door frame and possibly even the skin next to the cockpit windows will all be damaged.

TW870 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:38 pm

bob75013 wrote:
Actually there are two videos in the link. The second shows the result of the incident. The first shows the incident.

Apparently the driver was driving towards what I called aircraft 2 and swideswiped what I called aircraft 1 - before fully impacting aircraft 2.

In the video you see the fuel truck widen his right turn to avoid the other service truck, and then strike the wing of the aircraft on the left side of the camera frame in its left wing tip. But when did he strike the right wing of the other aircraft? Did he clip it before the head-on collision with the left wing, or did he back up after the first impact and ram the right wing of the aircraft next door with the back of the fuel truck? It seems the triggering issue is that the fuel truck began to drive forward just as the other service truck approached the two aircraft at a relatively high speed. The fuel truck driver seemed distracted, and then widened his turn rather than stopping.

alasizon · Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:49 pm

TW870 wrote:
bob75013 wrote:
Actually there are two videos in the link. The second shows the result of the incident. The first shows the incident.

Apparently the driver was driving towards what I called aircraft 2 and swideswiped what I called aircraft 1 - before fully impacting aircraft 2.

In the video you see the fuel truck widen his right turn to avoid the other service truck, and then strike the wing of the aircraft on the left side of the camera frame in its left wing tip. But when did he strike the right wing of the other aircraft? Did he clip it before the head-on collision with the left wing, or did he back up after the first impact and ram the right wing of the aircraft next door with the back of the fuel truck? It seems the triggering issue is that the fuel truck began to drive forward just as the other service truck approached the two aircraft at a relatively high speed. The fuel truck driver seemed distracted, and then widened his turn rather than stopping.

The red truck isn't driving at an excessive rate of speed at all and that shouldn't/wouldn't have impacted the fuel truck. The fuel truck at the start of the video is not in a position it should have even been in and it was clearly stopped or moving very slowly then the driver steps on the gas pedal.

NYPECO · Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:55 pm

Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

Gingersnap · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:04 pm

NYPECO wrote:
Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

There's an instagram vid further down which has it.

OB1504 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:06 pm

PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

Agreed.

Given that incidents like this tend to attract lots of onlookers, it’s possible that the video was leaked by someone who just happened to be there but doesn’t work for any of the parties involved.

alasizon wrote:
william wrote:
No doubt the fuel vendor has insurance for incidents like this, but would hate to be DFW manager that has to make that phone call and make out a report.

Mesa is like " ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!".

AA just wants two aircraft to cover the Waco and San Angelo flights.

Fuel Driver, "Google Assistant, where is the unemployment office?"

Allied probably has insurance but there are big cut-outs of what it doesn't cover. One of the big ones is excessive driver negligence which barring a medical/mechanical issue this would fall under as the approach path was nowhere what they should be.

Some ground handling companies are self insured so sometimes it comes straight out of the company’s budget.

NYPECO wrote:
Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

The web page is terribly designed. The actual video of the incident is located further down on the page about midway through the article.

lightsaber · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:06 pm

NYPECO,
Click on the lower video in the article.

LoL that took talent to be st that level of incompetence to hit one wing and goes almost square into a wing. In a fuel truck...

Lightsaber

bravotango75 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:08 pm

He and his family will likely not have a great Christmas, probably scouring the 'net' for a new job.

mopacair · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:14 pm

As if the mess wasn't already bad enough, it potentially could have been worse. If you watch and listen closely to the video taken on the ramp, you'll notice that the truck is still running and the engine is almost directly under the fuel vent of the wing. Having worked as a fueler at OKC, I'm still at a loss for words watching this. Seriously, what was this driver on?!

jscottwomack · Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:53 pm

After watching several times, my gut is it is a mechanical issue with truck or medical issue with driver. When you watch it hit the first plane, the cab of the truck takes a big hit and the 2nd plane stops the truck. Thinking the driver was injured on first hit and not even conscious when the 2nd plane is hit.

CXH · Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:22 pm

NYPECO wrote:
Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

Here's a direct link to the Instagram video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TyjsRFXRz ... atch_again

The fuel truck first damages the wing of the CRJ900 on the right then directly impacts the CRJ900 on the left. You can't make this stuff up!

DL717 · Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:28 pm

That took talent. Mad skills!

NYPECO · Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:04 am

CXH wrote:
NYPECO wrote:
Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

Here's a direct link to the Instagram video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TyjsRFXRz ... atch_again

The fuel truck first damages the wing of the CRJ900 on the right then directly impacts the CRJ900 on the left. You can't make this stuff up!

Gingersnap wrote:
NYPECO wrote:
Can I just watch the video please? Why does clicking the play button bring me to "Fox News Flash top headlines for Nov. 27"? I can't tell if the fuel truck clip is in there somewhere because the thing won't load.

There's an instagram vid further down which has it.

Ah thanks, guess I just needed to scroll down.

D L X · Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:12 am

I agree with jscottwomack. In the first impact, the truck’s cab is bent down and toward the camera. That almost surely broke the control column, and the driver became a passenger. He might not have even been conscious when he hit the second plane.

PSU.DTW.SCE · Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:28 am

I also didn't realize that DFW didn't have hydrant fueling, at least on these gates.

cschleic · Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:38 am

PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

Considering it happened at a gate, and the aftermath probably was seen by dozens of people, many who took photos, it's probably not a big secret compared to ramp photos. Not like it happened in the hangar or something like that.

alasizon · Thu Nov 28, 2019 1:44 am

PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
I also didn't realize that DFW didn't have hydrant fueling, at least on these gates.

There are a good number of gates that don't have hydrant fueling, both at DFW and other airports due to the continuous restriping and resizing of gates to fit the different gauges over the years. About two years ago, we had priced out moving a fuel pit eight feet in order to fit it in the new envelope, it was $125k. Needless to say, that gate is now tanker fueled.

skitchie · Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:13 am

PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

Fueler was working for Allied Aviation which is a different company than whoever services AmEagle out of DFW (Envoy? American? Regardless of who it sure isn't Allied).

If I saw a Menzies dude hit one of my airline's planes you'd bet your butt I'd be documenting it; hell I'd go so far to say that my company would prefer that I document as much as possible.

As for the social media leak, that part I agree with, maybe not the best call. But then again the original source it got sent to (@combatlearjet) said it was an anonymous submitter so he/she wasn't looking for clout or anything like that.

rbavfan · Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:23 am

OB1504 wrote:
That’s probably not how you’re supposed to refuel planes.

I can confirm that, for best results, the truck should not come into contact with the aircraft.

My guess is that the driver hit the wingtip of the first airplane while backing up without a guideperson (never do this!), and when he realized that he hit the airplane, he started moving forward to get away and was looking back at the airplane he’d damaged instead of looking forward at the airplane he was about to drive into.

I watched the video. He was driving in a fwd direction clipped the back of on wing. kept driving while turning into the 2nd planes wing. There was no backing up.

cskok8 · Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:45 am

Is this called killing two birds with one truck?

WayexTDI · Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:17 am

D L X wrote:
I agree with jscottwomack. In the first impact, the truck’s cab is bent down and toward the camera. That almost surely broke the control column, and the driver became a passenger. He might not have even been conscious when he hit the second plane.

OK, let's say the first hit broke the steering column so the truck can no longer be steered; but how about the brakes? They still work, and could have been used.
Unless the driver had a medical emergency or the truck has a mechanical failure PRIOR to hitting the first plane, the driver is on an ejection seat with the command button being teased by his manager.

tnair1974 · Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:35 am

gatibosgru wrote:
Varsity1 wrote:
Two Mesa CRJ's, impacting MESA's already poor performance.

Mess-a can't catch a break.

Not exactly news that Louisville area residents want to hear. Mesa CR9s currently operate all DFW-SDF flights for AA (no other Eagle affiliates on the route, and mainline from DFW ended as of a few days ago and won't resume until early next year). Mesa has a maintenance and flight crew base at SDF which may account for Mesa's large presence to/from DFW. While I don't claim to have done an in depth study comparing Mesa to other carriers, several threads have multiple accounts from this year alone of Mesa CR9s going tech resulting in delays/cancelations. Including disgruntled passengers posting in the Kentucky thread (at least WN's DAL-SDF service is an alternative for Mesa customers).

I'm less knowledgeable on Mesa's CR7s and E75s flying for United Express. Are they any better from a reliability standpoint than Mesa's (American Eagle) CR9s?

alasizon · Thu Nov 28, 2019 4:48 am

skitchie wrote:
PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

Fueler was working for Allied Aviation which is a different company than whoever services AmEagle out of DFW (Envoy? American? Regardless of who it sure isn't Allied).

Ground Handler for the AE operation in DFW is Envoy but Allied is the fuel provider for the entire American operation in DFW.

maint123 · Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:01 am

Hmm., seems to be the new maximum ver of the fuel truck. It has a new augmentation system for maneuvering. Can't really blame the driver for this.

TheWorm123 · Thu Nov 28, 2019 9:04 am

gatibosgru wrote:
Varsity1 wrote:
Two Mesa CRJ's, impacting MESA's already poor performance.

Mess-a can't catch a break.

I found Jar Jar Binks everybody!

MIflyer12 · Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:05 pm

tnair1974 wrote:
Not exactly news that Louisville area residents want to hear. Mesa CR9s currently operate all DFW-SDF flights for AA (no other Eagle affiliates on the route, and mainline from DFW ended as of a few days ago and won't resume until early next year). Mesa has a maintenance and flight crew base at SDF which may account for Mesa's large presence to/from DFW. While I don't claim to have done an in depth study comparing Mesa to other carriers, several threads have multiple accounts from this year alone of Mesa CR9s going tech resulting in delays/cancelations.

The DOT Air Travel Consumer Reports won't give you Mesa by type, but it does show Mesa on-time, cancellations, DB, and mishandled baggage vs. other reporting carriers.

https://www.transportation.gov/individu ... er-reports

D L X · Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:12 pm

WayexTDI wrote:
D L X wrote:
I agree with jscottwomack. In the first impact, the truck’s cab is bent down and toward the camera. That almost surely broke the control column, and the driver became a passenger. He might not have even been conscious when he hit the second plane.

OK, let's say the first hit broke the steering column so the truck can no longer be steered; but how about the brakes? They still work, and could have been used.
Unless the driver had a medical emergency or the truck has a mechanical failure PRIOR to hitting the first plane, the driver is on an ejection seat with the command button being teased by his manager.

The whole cab of the truck separated from the frame. Who knows how much control the operator could have asserted.
Also, an impact hard enough to separate the cab from the chassis might have also seriously injured the operator. it is at least conceivable that the operator would have been stunned and lost control.

tnair1974 · Wed Dec 04, 2019 4:59 am

One plane (N915FJ) was back in revenue service Sunday December 1.

However, the other CR9 just made an apparent ferry flight to SLN in Kansas, an airport not served by American/American Eagle.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N945LR

Any ideas why?

alasizon · Wed Dec 04, 2019 5:17 am

tnair1974 wrote:
One plane (N915FJ) was back in revenue service Sunday December 1.

However, the other CR9 just made an apparent ferry flight to SLN in Kansas, an airport not served by American/American Eagle.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N945LR

Any ideas why?

There is an MRO in SLN that Mesa is doing heavy MX at.

So far from what I've heard/seen, not great results. They sent 407SW (their 200) there for a C-check and it came out four weeks late with MELs, an APU fuel leak, aileron problems and expired 12 month checks.

washingtonflyer · Wed Dec 04, 2019 12:36 pm

jscottwomack wrote:
After watching several times, my gut is it is a mechanical issue with truck or medical issue with driver. When you watch it hit the first plane, the cab of the truck takes a big hit and the 2nd plane stops the truck. Thinking the driver was injured on first hit and not even conscious when the 2nd plane is hit.

I initially read that as mechanical issue with the truck or mechanical issue with the driver...

OB1504 · Wed Dec 04, 2019 1:36 pm

skitchie wrote:
PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:
Kind of surprised that whoever was on the ramp then there first instinct was to film the aftermath, and then of course leak/pass along to the media......

Just sayin'.....most employers don't think too fondly of employees doing this stuff. Its one thing if passengers filmed it from the terminal, but there is a lot of careless safety things going on there.

Fueler was working for Allied Aviation which is a different company than whoever services AmEagle out of DFW (Envoy? American? Regardless of who it sure isn't Allied).

If I saw a Menzies dude hit one of my airline's planes you'd bet your butt I'd be documenting it; hell I'd go so far to say that my company would prefer that I document as much as possible.

As for the social media leak, that part I agree with, maybe not the best call. But then again the original source it got sent to (@combatlearjet) said it was an anonymous submitter so he/she wasn't looking for clout or anything like that.

Virtually no US carrier does their own fueling. Even the few airlines that own their own fueling equipment just have a vendor operate it. The most common providers are Allied, Menzies, and Swissport.

tnair1974 · Fri Dec 20, 2019 10:50 pm

alasizon wrote:
tnair1974 wrote:
One plane (N915FJ) was back in revenue service Sunday December 1.

However, the other CR9 just made an apparent ferry flight to SLN in Kansas, an airport not served by American/American Eagle.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N945LR

Any ideas why?

There is an MRO in SLN that Mesa is doing heavy MX at.

So far from what I've heard/seen, not great results. They sent 407SW (their 200) there for a C-check and it came out four weeks late with MELs, an APU fuel leak, aileron problems and expired 12 month checks.

N945LR is now performing a ferry flight SLN-DFW. A large number of apparent revenue flights are loaded onto 945's schedule.

But in true Mesa fashion, the ferry flight is about two hours and twenty minutes late. :banghead:

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