Southwest Plane Topples Over Catering Truck While Pushing Back From Gate
Ryan Boyd August 05, 2015
Southwest Airlines Flight 4309 was pushing back from its gate at Denver International Airport (DEN) Tuesday evening when it accidentally collided with a catering truck, toppling it over. All 143 passengers onboard the San Jose-bound Boeing 737-300 were forced to deplane following the collision.
No one onboard was injured, according to a DEN representative, but the person driving the truck was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
The flight was subsequently canceled and displaced passengers were re-accommodated. The aircraft involved in the collision will remain at DEN to undergo repairs.
Southwest issued the following statement regarding the incident:
There were no injuries reported onboard the aircraft operating flight 4309 from Denver to San Jose, California, as it was being pushed back from a gate and came in contact with a parked aircraft service vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, a Southwest Employee, was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. The aircraft involved remains out of service for repairs. The safety of our Customers and Crew is our highest priority and we appreciate the patience of our 143 Customers as we work to re-accommodate them on another aircraft.
[Photo: KUSA]
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Totally avoidable and a clear violation of the MOST BASIC pushback requirements. Lets hope that OSHA, and the FAA investigate and fine the crap out of WN. The pressure for on time is too great when the safety of passengers and employees is sacrificed.
supposed to be a great low cost carrier but they seem to be into more happless preventable issues like this than any other airline