Clumsy baggage handler rips £1m hole in side of jet
27.08.08
A 'blundering' baggage handler crashed his loading truck into a holiday jet and ripped a £1million hole in its side. The Daily Record reports that ground staff at Edinburgh Airport 'gaped in shock as the buffoon slammed into the brand new £40million Boeing 737.' The five-foot gash he left in the fuselage will cost up to £1million to fix and the Flyglobespan jet will be grounded for at least three weeks.
The jet's crew were preparing to take off for Alicante when the crash happened on Sunday afternoon. Bosses had to scramble to arrange alternative seats for the passengers.
Flyglobespan chief executive Rick Green told the Record: ‘It's too early to give an exact figure for the cost of the damage but at the very least it will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. We are extremely aggrieved and upset with the baggage handling company.'
‘It appears that the handler has driven too close to the aircraft. The rule is that you have to be at least three metres away so one can only assume he's tried to take a short cut. A full investigation is under way and engineers are assessing the full extent of the damage.’
Flyglobespan are talking to the baggage company involved, Alba Ground Handling, to find out what went wrong. The newspaper reports that the handler involved in the crash has been sacked.
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