Two Workers Free On Bail, But Suspended

Two now-suspended British Airways ground workers are free on bail after being arrested for hitting a parked jet with a baggage truck at London Heathrow Airport, then leaving without reporting the incident.

London's Daily Mail reports the men, ages 49 and 54, were operating an electric vehicle used to move baggage when they hit the side of an Airbus A321.

The resulting damage wasn't noticed until it was spotted by ground crew near the airport's Terminal 5, after the plane had already taken on 80 passengers and was waiting to taxi for departure to Aberdeen about 8:30 pm Friday. The passengers were taken off the plane, which was taken out of service for repairs.

A report in The Mirror stated the men have jeopardized careers which total 40 years between them.

Damage to the hull of an airliner is much more than a cosmetic nuisance. In the US in 2007, a Northwest Airlines DC-9 and an Alaska Airlines MD-80 both suffered rapid depressurization incidents, at 19,000 and 26,000 feet respectively, when their fuselages ruptured at spots damaged by ground vehicle strikes which had gone unreported.

Both men in the Heathrow incident have court dates in about six weeks. British Airways declined to discuss further details with reporters.

FMI: www.britishairways.com