QUEENS (WABC) — Passengers at JFK Airport had a frightening experience Sunday evening when the nose of a plane lifted into the sky.
Flight 662 had just landed at Terminal 5 from Bridgetown, Barbados at approximately 8:30 p.m
Citizen app video shows the front of the plane being raised while the tail remained on the ground.
According to JetBlue, the plane tipped backwards as passengers exited due to a shift in weight and balance.
No injuries were reported. Officials say the plane was taken out of service for inspection.
“Safety is JetBlue’s top priority; “We are investigating this incident and the aircraft has been removed from service for inspection,” Jetblue said in a statement.
Ed Libassi, CEO of A&P Aircraft Maintenance, Inc., explained what he believes may have caused the plane to tip over.
“The situation that JetBlue had yesterday is something I have seen in my 51-year career – there was too much baggage left in the air hold,” Libassi said. “Maybe all the people had already gotten out, or maybe everything at the front was being quickly removed – from luggage to fuel in the wings as they flew from Barbados.”
Libassi said that on arriving flights, passengers would typically first hear the cargo doors opening before the passenger boarding bridge moves to the plane.
“But maybe they had problems with the luggage door and couldn’t open it quickly enough,” he said.
Despite the shock, Libassi said, “They handled the situation well” and they were lucky to be able to take the weight off the tail and the plane crashed again.
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