SFO jet bridge collapses on plane during deplaning process
A jet bridge at San Francisco International Airport is under investigation after it collapsed onto a Hawaiian Airlines plane in the middle of passengers disembarking Thursday evening, the airport said.
Hawaiian Airlines flight 42 departed from Kahului in Maui and arrived on time at SFO’s International Terminal A, according to FlightAware. The aircraft arrived without any issues, and the jet bridge began its usual process of positioning itself towards the plane.
Shortly after the jet bridge was positioned, it experienced “a structural failure” with a metal strut and suddenly collapsed onto the plane, according to SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel.
About half of the 179 passengers had deplaned when the incident occurred, Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson Alex Da Silva told USA TODAY. The remaining guests and six crew members used the rear exit door and steps to disembark.
“All of our guests were able to safely deplane, but our aircraft sustained some damage,” said Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson Alex Da Silva. The aircraft is being repaired before returning to service.
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Bonnie Hayes, a former American Airlines gate agent who operated jet bridges for 33 years and now serves as an expert witness for related lawsuits, told USA TODAY she has “never (seen) the cab of the jet bridge collapse.”
Hayes said it’s typically the airport's responsibility to perform routine maintenance checks of jet bridges, which commonly occur weekly or even daily. “There’s so many checks that are done on these,” she said.
“Underneath, it must’ve been stressed,” she said.
The passenger boarding bridge remains out of service for investigations and repairs, SFO said.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jet bridge collapses on Hawaii Airlines plane during disembarkation
