Does getting hit by a fuel truck while stationary in a plane on the apron at the airport count as a plane crash? Not a question I’d thought I’d ever ask, but here we are.
On Friday, September 17th at about 1:50 pm EST at the Asheville Regional Airport the United plane I was on (flight #3937), which had already pushed back from the gate and stationary, was struck in the passenger-side nose by a fuel truck. Technically it was a “ground incident,” but “plane crash” also seems appropriate.
Here’s my experience.
Was I Just in a Plane Crash?
A large metal bang was accompanied by a violent sway of the plane. Something had just hit the side of the plane I was on, on the other side from where I was sitting. The impact was strong enough that the plane actually slid sideways across the wet tarmac.
Everyone aboard was super startled, as we had already settled into our seats and were relaxing before takeoff. The impact felt something like being t-boned in a car at about 10-20 mph.
The flight attendant jumped up out of her seat and looked very concerned. She was looking out the windows on that far side of the plane to see what happened. Other passengers were getting up to look as well, and she was asking them to sit back down. She got on the intercom and told everyone to remain buckled up and that the flight deck would get back to us with more information soon. Her face was that of great concern, as she was obviously very shaken up.
It was pouring rain outside the plane. Firetrucks, police vehicles, and a variety of airport services trucks all surrounded the plane.
The pilot came over the intercom a few minutes later, telling us that a fuel truck had backed into the plane, authorities were taking pictures of the damage, we’d be moving back to the gate to deplane at some point, and that United was looking into options of getting us another plane.
One Gurney
Impressively it was only about 20 minutes after the incident that we started rolling the 50-feet back to the gate to deplane.
The Flight attendant held it together long enough to deplane everyone, & then later (close to an hour later) got carted off on a gurney. While I don’t know what happened to her, my best guess is that she had a panic attack. Her face and reactions just after the impact scared a lot of people on the plane. Luckily, it seemed like no one else was injured in any way.
Airport Chaos
It was a free-for-all in the tiny Asheville Regional Airport, with no direction from the airline. A massive line instantly formed at the gate counter with people needing to find new flights. With only two gate agents there, they had their hands full and were working super hard.
I snapped a few pictures of the damaged plane and heard one of the gate attendants announce that all checked bags were out at baggage claim and we’d have to recheck them ourselves. My first thought was; “Really!” Then I quickly realized that I needed to make a move.
I chanced it and quickly went back out through security and to the main United bag-check/check-in counter. This quick-thinking move paid off, as I was first in line at that counter that just had one employee at it.
Alternate Travel Plans
After a lot of computer issues -the computer still thought everyone on the flight was in flight, so used tickets that couldn’t be re-booked- and about an hour, I managed to get a new flight home the same day. I believe this only happened because I was more than patient, kind, and empathetic with the counter worker, who really was trying his best.
The line behind me had grown quite long by that point, with some very unhappy travelers.
My new flight was on American Airlines and left about an hour and a half after I got my new tickets. I grabbed my bags from baggage claim, paid and checked them in with American, and headed back through security.
Smiles and Kindness
I went to the gate agent at American and told her my story, showed her images of what happened to the plane, and smiled. She happily helped find me better, non-center-row, seats on my next two flights home.
With another hour to kill I headed for the one bar at the tiny airport to snag a well-earned local microbrew. Asheville has some great breweries!
I took it as a good sign that one of the bartenders collected 4-leaf-clovers and had some floating in a glass right in front of where I sat down at the bar.
I enjoyed my beer for some time, while updating the bartenders on what had happened, and chatting with other passengers from the plane who were still struggling to find alternate travel arrangements.
In the end, the super nice bartender wouldn’t let me pay for my drink. I thanked her and tipped her well.
Onward
My next flight to Houston went smooth in all regards. The Houston airport and final flight home are very different stories.
The Houston airport is massive and was absolutely packed with people. I had a nearly 2-hour layover, so grabbed some dinner. To say that people in Texas don’t care about COVID protocols would be a massive understatement. Also, the people-watching in this airport could be summed up with nearly every travel meme you’ve ever seen.
I headed to my gate with only a few minutes to spare before boarding and arrived at the gate to find that it had been moved. After running down to the new departure gate I found that the flight was delayed. It was basically a rolling delay of 20 minutes each time it updated. We were told the plane was coming from the hanger, but that it hadn’t moved yet. We heard this for some time until it eventually showed up.
The flight took off over an hour late. It was pretty smooth for most of the flight, but it got crazy warm on board. I was sweating quite a bit by the time we started the descent into Portland.
While I normally enjoy some turbulence, the pressure in my head from the descent, super warm temps, and the violent gusty crosswinds made the landing not very enjoyable.
After the long walk through the airport and grabbing my checked bags, I headed outside to grab a Lyft home. I found that all the rideshares were crazy expensive and had long lines, so I grabbed a waiting cab. The cab ended up costing me about $12 less than the rideshares would have, and with no wait.
I got to my home in Portland two minutes before midnight, a full 12-hours and 43-minutes after leaving my hotel in Asheville that morning. In the end, only about 6-hours later than expected. Not bad when you consider that the day started with a fuel truck backing into my plane.
Be NICE and Smile
I was OVERLY nice to everyone I interacted with during this whole process, which I believe is why it all worked out pretty okay. Other people got really mad and frustrated.
I was frustrated, but took a few deep breaths when I needed to and smiled the entire time (behind my mask). A smile, kind words, understanding/empathy, and a good story can take you far in life.
Onward to the next adventure, wherever and whatever it may be.
PS: I was randomly sitting beside Matthew L Moseley, world record swimmer and Hunter S Thompson’s good friend and publicist, and having a chat when this crazy fuel truck to airplane incident happened. You never know who you’ll meet while traveling!
