In what must have been a stomach dropping ‘oh shit’ moment for airport workers in Italy, a Cathay Pacific plane suffered serious damage to its wing after crashing into a light post while being towed on the tarmac at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome.
The incident early yesterday afternoon happened just prior to the Boeing 777-300ER’s scheduled 1.05pm departure for Hong Kong, though no passengers were on board, according to a Cathay Pacific spokesperson, quoted by Apple Daily.
The plane, which can carry more than 300 passengers, was being towed to the boarding gate when it’s right wing smashed into a light pole.
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The flight, CX292 from Rome to Hong Kong, was cancelled and passengers diverted to other flights, according to Apple Daily.
Although we’re no aviation experts, we’re pretty sure that ain’t a cheap fix. An engineering source from the airline who spoke to the SCMP after viewing pictures, said repairs were possible, but not easy.
In other words, that bird’s “grounded for a good while”, the source told the newspaper.
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