The TUI plane was parked at East Midlands Airport (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)
A TUI cabin crew member suffered horrific injuries in a shocking plunge from an aircraft at East Midlands Airport (EMA).
The experienced flight attendant, boasting more than 36 years of service, was securing the plane’s front door when she placed her left foot on the steps.
The steps were then yanked away from the aircraft and, despite desperately clinging to the door, the woman plummeted through the gap and crashed to the tarmac.
She sustained multiple fractures and needed an extensive recovery period, a report released by the government’s Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) disclosed on Thursday.
The drama unfolded on December 16, 2024, with the delayed flight destined for Lanzarote in Spain, reports Nottinghamshire Live.
The AAIB probe discovered that the step removal happened despite the aircraft door remaining open.
The chief dispatcher was also still positioned at the top of the stairs to hand over paperwork to the flight crew, but managed to grip the side rail to avoid tumbling down.
Three dispatchers in total, tasked with overseeing aircraft ground operations, were on duty, alongside four ramp personnel, also handling ground services.
The AAIB noted that “it was not clear who had responsibility for checking that the aircraft door was closed and steps were clear.”
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One dispatcher was already stationed at the foot of the steps, whilst another had just descended when ground staff wrongly believed the door closure was finished and the steps could be wheeled away from the plane. The dispatcher, already at the foot of the steps, started to retract the stabiliser legs from the front steps in preparation for their removal.
Two ramp agents then swiftly began to push the steps away from the aircraft under the assumption that “activities in the aircraft were complete and the cabin door was closed.”
Regarding one of the ramp staff members, the AAIB report states: “He looked up and could not see any light coming from the cabin and so he felt sure that the door was closed.
“He released the steps’ hand brake and together with the fourth member of the ramp team began to push the steps away from the aircraft.
“He heard what he thought was the team leader shouting to stop and he turned around to see the flight attendant laying on the ramp and the passenger door open.”
The AAIB investigation discovered that door closure and step removal had been subject to a “procedural workaround” at EMA and other UK airports where the unnamed ground handling company mentioned in the report operated.
The report reveals: “The dispatch and ramp staff were using a procedural workaround where the dispatcher was at the top of the steps completing the door closure procedure for which he was not qualified or approved.
“The workaround meant that the ramp staff who were qualified to operate the steps were under the platform close to the aircraft rather than one of them completing the door closure at the top of the steps which was the approved procedure.
“The practice was so commonplace that even those who were aware it was not allowed did not see a need to challenge it or report it as a safety concern.”
The authority added that the procedure had been in place “for many years” and had not been identified in audits.
The AAIB said: “The step removal process was conducted in a way that was not consistent with the written policy and had insufficient safeguards to prevent movement of the steps with people on them or the door still open.”
A report by EMA also discovered that air traffic control (ATC) – which could not observe what occurred from the tower – did not grasp the severity of the incident, which prompted a lower grade of response.
The responsibility for securing staircases to an aircraft typically rests with the ground handling agent, who operates on behalf of the airline.
The airport bears no responsibility for this matter.
A spokesperson for EMA said: “East Midlands Airport has supported the AAIB and other regulatory bodies throughout this investigation.
“Our involvement in the incident was limited to Air Traffic Control initiating a call-out to our Fire Service, which attended as First Responders.
“East Midlands Airport has robust emergency procedures in place, and these were followed during the incident.
“The report acknowledges that while our Fire Service could have arrived sooner had the pilot declared an emergency, the response time ultimately made little difference in this case.
“We remain fully committed to working collaboratively with all operators on the airport to help prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
“We extend our best wishes to the cabin crew member who was injured and sincerely hope they have made a full recovery.”
The AAIB determined that both the ground handling firm and the airline implemented safety measures to tackle the concerns highlighted during the probe.
It stated: “After the accident the ground handling company issued a safety alert setting out that only qualified ramp staff are to interact with the steps and that dispatchers are not permitted to position or retract the side rails or adjust the stabilisers.
“The ground handling company now require the aircraft dispatcher to attend the team leader’s short briefing to the ramp team before the turnaround begins so that all ramp team members are aware of who the dispatcher is for that flight.”
Nottinghamshire Live has contacted TUI for a response.
