Van Hits JetBlue Plane Parked At Logan Airport Passenger Gate
BOSTON (CBS) – A van hit and damaged a JetBlue plane at Logan Airport early Friday morning.
Flight 891 was due to leave Logan at 6:45 a.m. for Tampa, Florida, but after passengers boarded the jet, it was struck by a vehicle.
JetBlue spokeswoman Paula Acevedo said a "ground operations vehicle came into contact with the aircraft."
According to Massport spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan, the van struck "a section" of the parked jet, but no one was hurt.
"Big jolt the plane went up and down. I was in front the captain jumped up and (originally) said they thought it was a landing gear collapse but then they quickly realized we were hit. The aircraft is being inspected for damage, " passenger David Siles told WBZ-TV in an email.
"The issue was the truck driver got out and the vehicle re-engaged and rolled forward or was never in park. The baggage crew working the flight worked fast to stop the truck from rolling further and causing any more damage."
In a video posted by Siles on Twitter, a flight attendant told passengers the van "rolled underneath the airplane."
Because of the damage, "This airplane's not going anywhere for a while," the flight attendant said. Mehigan confirmed the plane was "taken out of service."
Amy Petter, a Melrose native who has lived in Tampa, Florida the past four years, told WBZ she was on the breezeway about to board the plane around 5:45 a.m. when the van hit it. She says she felt everything shake.
Petter says flight attendants were running around, trying to make sure no one was hurt. One flight attendant said she hadn't seen anything like this in her 19-year career, Petter said.
JetBlue did a good job keeping people calm and explaining the situation, Petter says.
"The cause of the incident remains under investigation," she said in a statement.
Siles told WBZ he and the other passengers then boarded a replacement flight, and Petter added that the plane took off at about 7:15 a.m.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
