It’s a shame when any aircraft sustains damage. However, it’s even more unfortunate when the aircraft in question is nearly brand new, having been delivered the month prior. That was the case yesterday when a three-month-old KLM Boeing 777-300ER was damaged while pushing back at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. The aircraft was struck by a jetbridge that was not properly removed.
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“On April 22, a Boeing 777 aircraft hit the bridge during pushback, which was in too low a position due to a malfunction. This caused minor damage to the wing of the aircraft. This damage is now being repaired.” -KLM Spokesperson
Improperly positioned jetbridge
The news comes via the Twitter account of JACDEC, which posted a photo of the jetbridge ‘resting’ on the wing of the Boeing 777-300ER (embedded below). It’s reported that the aircraft sustained minor damage while it was pushing back from Amsterdam Schiphol airport due to an ‘avio bridge’ that was improperly removed. From the photo, it appears to have been at Gate E20.
KLM Boeing 777-300 (PH-BVV, built 2020) sustained minor damage during pushback at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport (EHAM), Netherlands. It is understood the adjacent "avio bridge" was not removed properly. https://t.co/VfgB4Ao24f
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) April 23, 2021
A brand new aircraft
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has 31 Boeing 777s in its fleet. 15 of these are the shorter -200 while the other 16 are the stretched -300ER variant. Of all the aircraft that could have been damaged, the 777 involved was a nearly brand new bird, listed as being just 0.4 years old.
This aircraft, registered as PH-BVV, was delivered to KLM in March 2021. In fact, the jet is KLM’s second-newest 777, with only PH-BVW younger by just a few weeks. These would be the final 777-300s ordered by the Air France-KLM Group (for now, at least). Now, the only outstanding orders with Boeing are for nine 787-10s.
Utilization data from RadarBox.com notes that the aircraft has only operated 14 flights with a total of 80.8 flight hours.
Other jetbridge collisions
Thankfully, we haven’t had to report on too many jetbridge collisions in recent times. But, just like collisions with other airport equipment (fuel trucks, catering vehicles, etc.), this type of incident does happen from time to time, either due to human error or strong storms (and a combination of both when equipment is improperly secured).
Interestingly, a previous incident we reported on also occurred at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. In July 2020, a TUI Boeing 787 Dreamliner destined for Curaçao was damaged when it was pulled too far. This caused the nacelle of the left engine to collide with the gate’s jetbridge. This situation was actually caught on video and is embedded below.
Twice in October 2019, we reported on jetbridges colliding with aircraft.
- On October 7th, 2019, a Japan Airlines 787 was being towed into the departure gate when the aircraft’s left-hand side engine fairing struck and scraped against the underside of the jet bridge. This sounds fairly similar to the TUI incident mentioned above.
- The second incident took place on October 17th, 2019, when a Southwest 737 sitting at a gate was blown by strong winds into a jetbridge at Boston Logan airport.
Thankfully, in all of these incidents, no injuries were reported.
Have you traveled on KLM or to Amsterdam Schiphol airport recently? Share your experience with us by leaving a comment.
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