On Tuesday in Chicago, a United Airlines jet was damaged on the runway when it collided with a baggage loader.
On Monday in El Paso, Texas, a mechanic was killed when he was pulled into the right engine of a Continental Airlines 737 while checking an oil leak.
And Jan. 12 in Philadelphia, a Southwest Airlines 737 was damaged when a baggage loader banged into one of its engines.
Airline accidents on the ground are so common that aviation experts have a term for them: "ramp rash." It's hard to quantify them because reporting requirements are vague, but a panel of safety experts who studied the problem in 2004 estimated ground accidents cost the world's airlines $5 billion a year.
Although several Alaska Airlines mishaps have made headlines in the past month, national and local aviation experts say accidents are a problem for all airlines.
Seattle residents and Alaska passengers have taken a keen interest in what happens to aircraft on the ground since Dec. 26, when a ramp worker hit an Alaska Airlines MD-80 with a baggage loader. The worker failed to report the accident. Flight 536 was allowed to depart, and the small crease in the fuselage eventually ruptured into a 1-foot-by-6-inch hole, causing the cabin to depressurize at 26,000 feet. The plane returned safely to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Seattle Times B&T
On Monday in El Paso, Texas, a mechanic was killed when he was pulled into the right engine of a Continental Airlines 737 while checking an oil leak.
And Jan. 12 in Philadelphia, a Southwest Airlines 737 was damaged when a baggage loader banged into one of its engines.
Airline accidents on the ground are so common that aviation experts have a term for them: "ramp rash." It's hard to quantify them because reporting requirements are vague, but a panel of safety experts who studied the problem in 2004 estimated ground accidents cost the world's airlines $5 billion a year.
Although several Alaska Airlines mishaps have made headlines in the past month, national and local aviation experts say accidents are a problem for all airlines.
Seattle residents and Alaska passengers have taken a keen interest in what happens to aircraft on the ground since Dec. 26, when a ramp worker hit an Alaska Airlines MD-80 with a baggage loader. The worker failed to report the accident. Flight 536 was allowed to depart, and the small crease in the fuselage eventually ruptured into a 1-foot-by-6-inch hole, causing the cabin to depressurize at 26,000 feet. The plane returned safely to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Seattle Times B&T
