On August 23, 2015, at Metropolitan Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California, a ground operations specialist was seriously injured after being struck by the roof of a service golf cart which had been blown off by jet blast from a Boeing 737.
Southwest Airlines ("SWA") flight 1995 had pushed back from gate 26 and was beginning to taxi. Ground operations personnel were servicing another SWA aircraft parked one gate over, at gate 28. One of their golf carts was parked near the rear of aircraft. As SWA 1995 began to taxi and turn to exit the alley way, the jet blast struck the roof of the golf cart which separated and hit one of the ground operations personnel. He was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken knee cap.
Although most damage from jet blast is to equipment rather than people the forces involved are tremendous and can still cause plenty of damage. According to NASA, a large jet-engined aircraft with its engines at 40% maximum rated power can produce hurricane-force winds up to 200 feet behind the aircraft.
You can read more about other jet blast accidents and find related safety recommendations at http://tiny.cc/jetblast.
Southwest Airlines ("SWA") flight 1995 had pushed back from gate 26 and was beginning to taxi. Ground operations personnel were servicing another SWA aircraft parked one gate over, at gate 28. One of their golf carts was parked near the rear of aircraft. As SWA 1995 began to taxi and turn to exit the alley way, the jet blast struck the roof of the golf cart which separated and hit one of the ground operations personnel. He was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken knee cap.
Although most damage from jet blast is to equipment rather than people the forces involved are tremendous and can still cause plenty of damage. According to NASA, a large jet-engined aircraft with its engines at 40% maximum rated power can produce hurricane-force winds up to 200 feet behind the aircraft.
You can read more about other jet blast accidents and find related safety recommendations at http://tiny.cc/jetblast.
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