Defective Bracket Blamed for Airport Jet Bridge Collapse

6 injured in Baltimore incident
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 31, 2018 12:21 AM CST
6 Injured in Airport Jet Bridge Collapse
This photo provided by Lynn Krugman and taken through a window shows emergency personnel responding after an "equipment failure" involving a jet bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, in Baltimore.   (Lynn Krugman via AP)

Investigators found a defective metal bracket on a jet bridge that collapsed and injured six people at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, officials said Sunday. Metal brackets will be replaced on the jet bridge that collapsed Saturday and on five other jet bridges made by the same manufacturer, the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a statement. The department said 33 jet bridges made by the manufacturer were inspected and deemed safe to use. The rest of the airport's jet bridges will also be inspected.

All six people injured in the collapse were released from the hospital early Sunday, the department said. Southwest Airlines said the jet bridge failed while paramedics were helping a passenger with a medical problem off Flight 822 after it arrived from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the AP reports. Southwest said the jet bridge, which connects the plane to the terminal, failed while medics were helping the passenger outside the aircraft. Remaining passengers safely exited the plane using air stairs, the airline said. (A pickup truck hit a Southwest plane at the same airport earlier this year.)

(More airport stories.)

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