Ground crew gets crushed by plane’s front wheel at Russian airport

Ground crew gets crushed by 77-tonne plane in Russia

An airport ground crew is in intensive care after being crushed by a 77-tonne plane’s front wheel at Russia’s Koltsovo International Airport on 19 May.

The 21-year-old staff named Rail has yet to regain consciousness, reported The Sun. One of his legs was amputated while the other is fractured.

A criminal case has been filed against the unnamed pilot who was removed from the Ural Airlines flight bound for Bishkek, Kyrgyztan.

Patient is in intensive care

According to The Sun, the pilot failed to wait for Rail to move away from beneath the plane when he began taxiing.

Particularly, the pilot “did not give a command to turn off the intercom to the ground handling technician”, said a Ural Airlines spokesman.

This resulted to the 21-year-old staff being run over by the 77-tonne Airbus A320’s front wheel.

A hospital spokesman told The Sun that Rail is in the ICU and is in a serious condition. He is also yet to regain his consciousness.

Pilot to face criminal case

A Ural Airlines’ spokesman said that “the circumstances are being clarified”. The pilot has also been interrogated.

Meanwhile, the Russian Investigation Committee has filed a criminal case against the pilot for violating safety rules “that resulted in serious harm to health through negligence”.

A commission investigating the incident has called for Russian airlines to review communication protocols between pilots and ground technicians before taxiing.

Following the pilot’s removal from the flight, a new crew member took the plane to Bishkek after a three-and-a-half-hour delay.

Also read: Ex-SIA air steward allegedly falls after slipping on grease patch on plane, sues airline for S$1.78M

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Featured image adapted from @aviationbrk on X