Surveillance footage has shown the moment an American Airlines plane sucked a cargo container into its engine, causing it to be destroyed.
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The dramatic event captured on camera occurred shortly after the flight from London landed at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport last Thursday, per Chicago outlet ABC7.
The plane came to a halt on the tarmac as a cargo driver swiftly maneuvered a train of four containers in front of it, as captured by a CCTV clip circulating on social media.
1/? CCTV footage of yesterday American Airlines #AA47 cargo container ingestion has surfaced, & it doesn't look good for the tug driver towing the cargo containers. Just as I suspected, they went onto the service road between 2 aircraft. #OHare #avgeek #ChicagoScanner #ORD pic.twitter.com/j7H8uqQBpx
— Windy City Wheelman (@WindyCityDriver) October 19, 2024
As the cargo moved past the plane’s engine, three containers suddenly detached and tumbled toward the aircraft, as captured in the video.
One container was sucked into the engine, scattering debris into the air. Meanwhile, the other two were propelled further down the tarmac.
Images of the aftermath revealed fragments of steel debris lodged in the engine as crews examined the damage.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported. However, the Federal Aviation Administration is continuing its investigation into the incident.
The Internet Reacts to Footage of Cargo Sucked Into Plane Engine
Of course, denizens of X (formerly Twitter) weighed in on the harrowing footage.
“This is LITERALLY one of the first things they teach you NOT TO DO in airfield driver training,” X user and airport worker @WindyCityDriver wrote. “As you can see, another tug went through first, and our “incident vehicle” decided to follow through. You can also see another aircraft Northbound on TWY A.
“We get paid by the hour, not by the amount of work we do. SLOW DOWN. Consider the consequences. Think things over before doing,” they added.
Meanwhile, another user couldn’t help but joke about the incident. “that’s why they need cameras on these tugs. So we can see the expression on his face when he looks up from his phone and realizes what happened,” they quipped.