No Injuries, But Questions On How It Could Happen

Officials with the FAA, DFW International Airport's Department of Public Safety and American Airlines are all trying to figure out how an incoming flight from Charlotte, using an automated docking system to pull up to a gate, had its wing strike a fire truck parked in a designated fire lane last Thursday.

The local NBC TV affiliate reports Flight 611 (similar plane shown) was carrying a passenger who, according to witnesses on the plane, began exhibiting diabetic symptoms. Emergency responders waiting at the gate had with them a fire truck. As the plane turned to approach the gate, it reportedly scraped the truck's ladder with its wing, damaging both the MD-80 and the truck.

There were no injuries reported, and the patient was described as alert and talking as emergency medical technicians reached him. The crew reportedly treated the incident as if it was all in a day's work. 17-year-old James Markus, a passenger on the plane, told NBC that as the passengers deplaned, the crew simply said, "'Oh, thanks for flying. Hope you had a good flight.' It was weird."

FMI: www.aa.com ; www.dfwairport.com