Like a scene out of the ‘Final Destination’ movie franchise, passengers on a recent American Eagle flight at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport had a very lucky escape from near disaster after a ground worker lost control of the refueling hose.
In several video clips shared on social media, the moment the highly flammable jet fuel started to spray uncontrollably around the aircraft has now gone viral, with viewers left gobsmacked by the incident.
When the incident happened isn’t exactly clear, although it’s believed to have occurred in the last few days just before a late-night departure from the airport.
The ground worker was finishing up refueling the American Eagle regional jet and went to disconnect the hose from the belly of the plane, but the worker didn’t appear to realize that fuel was still being pumped through the hose.
As he pulled it from the refueling port, he instantly lost control as the hose, still under high pressure, started to lash around, spraying fuel across the plane and the surrounding tarmac.
Startled and trying to rub his face from where fuel had splashed on him, the worker stumbles back to the refueling truck, eventually managing to turn off the pump and stop the fuel from spraying everywhere.
One video was taken from surveillance camera footage of the incident, while another angle from the other side of the plane was captured by a passenger from inside the terminal building.
Ramp agents, or rampers as they are commonly known, have taken to social media to share their opinion on what they think caused the accident, with many agreeing that it looks like this was down to a broken hose or pump rather than a mistake on the refueler’s part.
While thankfully rare, fuel spills do happen from time to time (although perhaps not so spectacularly as the latest incident at Dallas Fort Worth).
Almost a year to the day, passengers on a Eurowings plane at Düsseldorf Airport in Germany had to be evacuated when the driver of a refueling truck accidentally reversed the vehicle into a bollard next to the plane and pierced the side of the tanker.
The airport fire service quickly responded to the incident and used special absorption pads to clear up the spillage.
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Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since… most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt’s industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.