The Dallas-Fort Worth area dealt with some major storms overnight. The storms were so bad that a parked Boeing 737 even started moving…
Continue reading: Watch: Parked American Boeing 737 Spins In Wind
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I live less than 20 miles from DFW. I'm a retired contractor/engineer that has gone through super typhoons in the Pacific. I've seen a lot of wind damage. Short of cable (not ropes) tying the aircraft to a hooks embedded in the tarmac (concrete), anything last night could have moved including flipping over.
I was at DFW for about 8 hoots yesterday trying to get out through some creative routing. I finally got out, but that storm was no joke and that plane does not surprise me. It was pretty rough down there.
Small correction - the incident occurred shortly before 6 am CDT (I know, it hit my neighborhood about the same time, waking me up and scaring the begeezus out of the cat in the process), not 2 am.
As for why there was loose equipment, the storm was moving at a forward speed of 45-50 knots, and only started producing significant (>65 kts) gusts in central Denton County, about 20 miles northwest of the airport. Possible there wasn't sufficient time to prepare.
It's DEI's fault.
It's Tim Dunn's fault.
It's Joe Biden's fault.
It's whatever's fault.
I'm surprised that no one here so far have blamed Boeing.
"It's DEI's fault.
It's Tim Dunn's fault.
It's Joe Biden's fault."
Did you even READ the comments?
If you've never been through a severe thunderstorm like that, it will make it incredibly dark, even in the middle of the day. But in any event, don't take my word for it. Take a look at the weather obs for KDFW and you'll see the offending wind gust occurred at the 05:53 CDT observation.
How would I have known that if I didn't read them. I don't spending too much time on what dumb people yap, so maybe you and they weren't telling what you/they wanted to tell straightforward.
Bad weather, especially wind, need to chalk those mains, prevents the plane from pivoting. The nosewheel will canter and you can see it turn right after it slid the block. Much harder to do if the mains cannot move, not impossible, just much harder.
Are all of these comments using the word "fault" supposed to be funny/clever/witty? I guess I missed that class which taught smarm.
Since this is a blog about air travel, and this specific report concerned an plane at a gate twisting due to the terrific storms experienced in that neighborhood (and commercial airports to the best of my knowledge don't use tie-downs), can someone explain why such comments are posted?
It's a little disturbing seeing a Twitter post where some racist idiot blames "DEI" (code for "non-white, non-male people"). Though I know you don't believe it, Ben, many of your readers take that view. I foolishly clicked through to the post and see several posts in agreement. I see more comments of this type in OMAAT every so often and wonder what company I'm keeping in the miles-and-points club. Maybe I need to quit.
What the heck does DEI have to do with this? You may think you're too cool but you are probably just some redneck racist.
"In the video circulating widely online, which seems to be taking from security camera footage, you can see the parked jet..." I think you mean taken.
Looks like the wheels were turned sideways. Wonder if it would have spun if the wheels had been straight?
Perhaps a better and more realistic blame would be Climate Change. But, of course, DEI is so easy a target. Shaking my head in disbelief that we are even having this conversation. Jokingly or not.
At least we're not blaming everything including this powerful storm on global warming anymore.
Humans are as dumbest ever.
If it is beyond your expertise then do not further talk about it and just state the facts. No need to make the article longer than needed.
In high winds, policy at my airline is to chock all the tires and leave a tug connected.
I know that I am a Delta fan, but even I do not have the energy to rotate a plane like that.
I imagine chocks would have been more effective than chalk, however much it improves a climber's grip! 😉
Airline operations should be watching weather patterns like a hawk…aircraft should be double chocked with tug connected (if possible).
Every general aviation pilot knows that his or her airplane has to be tied town, whenever the plane is left overnight, or even for a few hours. The same protocol should apply to larger commercial and military aircraft, one would hope. I'm sure the military does not leave its aircraft sitting on the tarmac without being tied down securely.
It's the airport issue, not the airplane maker. If they were to add wheel chock peg holes in the tarmac they could avoid this issue. It's a rather easy fix and I have no idea whey they don't already exist.
Please take care reposting videos with gratuitous politically inflammatory comments and please take them down as soon as they are brought to your attention. Thank you
Dear Bailey. Several people who write blame anything bad airline related on DEI. Of course Ben doesn’t think that. You can tell he was sarcastic. I think you just do not understand humor/sarcasm. Have a nice day.
David Seymour is American’s Chief Operating Officer. He leads all of American’s operations including airport operations, flight operations, technical operations, inflight, safety and the Integrated Operations Center, where the airline’s daily operations are managed.
David’s aviation career began at the airline in 1999. Throughout his career he has held a variety of leadership roles in materials and planning, operations control and planning, crew resources and scheduling, technical operations and flight operations. Most recently, David served as Senior Vice President of Operations. He was named Chief Operating Officer in 2020.
After college, David served as an airborne infantry officer in the U.S. Army. He later held numerous management positions in purchasing, inventory management, warehouse distribution, logistics and finance. David is an executive sponsor for American’s Veteran & Military Employee Business Resource Group, an employee-led organization that supports veterans, current military service members and their families.
David holds a Master of Management in marketing and transportation from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in mathematical science of operations research from the U.S. Military Academy.
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986 and completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course. In 1987, after graduation from U.S. Army Ranger School, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division where he served as a platoon leader and company executive officer. In 1989, he reassigned to the 18th Airborne Corps where he served as the aide-de-camp for the corps chief of staff and later for the deputy commanding general. He completed his active service in 1991 as the operations officer for the U.S. Army Parachute Team "Golden Knights."
The wheels were not initially sideways. They turned after the plane started rotating. You have 77mph winds hitting the vertical stabilizer near dead on, which then acts as a big lever to rotate the aircraft. Nothing heavy is attached to the aircraft at the nose to counter the force on the tail, so it rotates. This should not be surprising in the slightest, but IMO it seems everybody underestimates how powerful high winds are unless they're pilots or sailors.