United Boeing 737 Hit By Cart At Chicago O’Hare In Bizarre Incident

United Boeing 737 Hit By Cart At Chicago O’Hare In Bizarre Incident

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This is just very strange…

United Boeing 737 damaged by vehicle at Chicago O’Hare

This incident happened on Saturday, August 26, 2023, and involves a United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER with the registration code N75425. Shortly before the 7PM, the roughly 15-year-old Boeing 737 had just arrived in Chicago (ORD) from Punta Cana (PUJ), and was parked at gate M37 at Terminal 5.

Per security camera footage shared online by @xJonNYC, you can see that an American Airlines service cart smashing into the right side of the nose of a parked United Airlines aircraft. As you can see, the vehicle is first driving along the side of the terminal, before making a sharp right turn, and then hitting the nose. It’s pretty wild how you can see the plane “bounce” a bit when it’s hit.

Fortunately nobody was seriously injured, though there is substantial damage to both the aircraft and the cart.

What could cause an incident like this?

With the amount of stuff going on at airports, accidents are bound to happen every once in a while. However, this is one of the stranger ones. It’s one thing to see two carts collide while driving, or to see the wing tips of two aircraft hit one another.

But in this case the cart is clearly operating in an area with gates, where aircraft are parked. The cart goes around a tight corner, and then smashes into the plane.

I’m sure a full investigation will be conducted, though it seems like this is most likely to be attributed to one of two things:

  • Was this the driver’s fault, and were they just really distracted? I have a hard time imagining that’s the case, since the driver had to make a sharp turn prior to hitting the aircraft, so you’d think they would be focused, as it’s not like they were driving straight for a long distance
  • Was there some sort of a mechanical issue with the cart? Based on the acceleration and the speed at which the cart goes around the corner, one has to wonder if maybe the accelerator was stuck, or something

Bottom line

A United Airlines Boeing 737 sustained some significant damage while parked at a gate, after an American Airlines cart slammed into it. We see accidents at airports every once in a while, though this has to be one of the more unusual accidents we’ve seen.

What do you make of this Boeing 737 incident at Chicago O’Hare?

Conversations (13)
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  1. roger Guest

    That is Why a Company has insurance. As far as what happened it could be mechanical failure of the vehicle (which will be investigated and proven), a medical issue affecting the driver (heart attack, seizure,etc) or the case of a renegade employee disregarding Safety Protocols and about to get terminated as soon as a drug/ alcohol test is conducted. No way will this simply be an "oh well" situation.

  2. Jim Guest

    Clearly this is AA trying to take out the competition.

  3. dee Guest

    Considering smoking DOPE-WEED IS LEGAL EVERYWHERE!!Too bad there is no realtime test to check blood and out to lunch levels...

    1. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      I bet this is the case. SO much weed usage is happening right now. Everywhere we travel lately, we smell it on our hotel floors and in our rooms, walking around city centers it reaks of skunk. I smoked at one point in my life, I get it. Glad it's not being criminalized so harshly anymore. BUT, it's definitely being abused openly ATM. It definitely makes you distracted and unconcerned with things around you. It also slows response times.

  4. DCharlie Guest

    If the driver was drunk, then sign him up to become an UA pilot!

  5. David Gomez Guest

    Sure AA will have to pay for the fix! And that employee…. To be continued!!

  6. Tim Dunn Diamond

    United can't catch a break with aircraft damage and aircraft out of service.

  7. snic Diamond

    I'm guessing it's either a serious malfunction (brakes failed and driver tried to avoid hitting someone/something up ahead by steering to the right, but ended up hitting the plane?) or the driver blacked out (any number of reasons - e.g., a seizure).

  8. TravelinWilly Diamond

    The driver was texting, no doubt.

    Also, love JonNYC’s avatar pic - he looks like a deranged megalomaniacal sexual-assaulting selfish delusional violence-fomenting ahole who belongs in prison.

    1. Icarus Guest

      This is irrelevant however who was it that was in prison recently and should remain there indefinitely? The first and only US President ( I use that term loosely ) who has ever been and makes the country look like a banana republic.

      P01135809 as that orange clown should be called.

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TravelinWilly Diamond

The driver was texting, no doubt. Also, love JonNYC’s avatar pic - he looks like a deranged megalomaniacal sexual-assaulting selfish delusional violence-fomenting ahole who belongs in prison.

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Icarus Guest

This is irrelevant however who was it that was in prison recently and should remain there indefinitely? The first and only US President ( I use that term loosely ) who has ever been and makes the country look like a banana republic. P01135809 as that orange clown should be called.

4
DCharlie Guest

If the driver was drunk, then sign him up to become an UA pilot!

2
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