It looks like China Southern didn’t have a good night at LAX.
China Southern 328 was departing from Los Angeles to Guangzhou when the A380 got in an accident with a tug. Here’s a picture of the incident from Instagram user @bjazzy_310:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMqk8JEg8TL/?taken-by=bjazzy_310
Ouch! CBS Los Angeles reports that the tug driver sustained a minor injury, though no one else was hurt.
The plane returned to the terminal after the incident, and ended up being canceled. I’m not sure if that was because the crew “timed out,” or because they couldn’t fix the damage to the plane. Some other flights were canceled because of the incident as well, as the plane was blocking the taxiway, so they couldn’t get out.
I’ll be curious to see what caused this incident. It’s not yet clear whether the tug that the plane got in an accident with was the same one that helped the plane push back, or another one. If it was the same one, then perhaps it was a miscommunication as to whether or not the tug was clear and the plane was ready to taxi.
If it was a completely different tug, then chances are the pilots weren’t at fault, since airplanes always have the right of way ahead of ground vehicles.
(Tip of the hat to @pir8z40)
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