HELSINKI- A ground worker at Helsinki Airport (HEL) in Finland Died in a tragic accident early Saturday (November 2, 2024) after being crushed between an aircraft and a lavatory service vehicle.
The incident occurred during the turnaround of Finnair (AY) flight AY62, which had landed from Tokyo Haneda (HND) at approximately 4:21 a.m.
Helsinki Airport Worker Died
Following passenger disembarkation, ground crews began preparing the five-years-six-months-old Airbus A350-900, registered as OH-LWO, known for its special Moomin livery, for its next flight.
During the process, a towing crew started moving the aircraft from the gate to a remote parking location, not realizing that a lavatory waste truck was still positioned under the plane’s rear, actively servicing the lavatories.
To perform lavatory servicing, the worker used mobile air stairs to connect a waste hose from the truck to a port on the aircraft’s fuselage. As the plane was pushed back, the worker was reportedly crushed between the aircraft and the waste truck, PYOK reported.
Police were alerted to the incident at around 5:14 a.m. and have since initiated a criminal investigation into the actions of the towing crew.
A spokesperson for Aviator Finland, the ground handling company employing the deceased worker, stated that the company is holding meetings with staff to discuss the incident.
Similar Incidents
In early 2020, a Finnair flight attendant suffered serious injuries at Helsinki Airport after falling approximately 3.6 meters from an open door on an Airbus A320.
The aircraft had just completed a flight from Oulu and was parked at a remote stand, where passengers were deplaned via mobile airstairs into buses.
According to an accident report, a delay in bus departure led the flight attendant to reopen the rear door, step onto the airstairs, and signal to the bus driver that all passengers had disembarked.
As the attendant prepared to re-enter the aircraft, the airstairs driver began to move the stairs away, causing the attendant to lose balance and fall to the ground below.
Similarly, A viral video from Jakarta’s Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK) shows an airline ground worker falling from an Airbus A320 after colleagues prematurely removed the stepladder as he stepped out.
Fortunately, the worker’s injuries are reported as non-life-threatening. The incident has sparked public concern about airport safety protocols, with social media users questioning why the stepladder was moved before the aircraft door was closed.
The airline involved, TransNusa (8B), is a low-cost carrier based in Jakarta. It offers domestic flights and routes to China, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Further, in April of last year, Vivin Anthony Dominic, a 34-year-old security agent for AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), died after falling from an aircraft’s rear door at Pune Airport (PNQ) in India while deboarding.
Feature Image by Clément Alloing | Flickr
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