747 Damaged After Hitting Cargo Pallets

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Key Takeaways:

  • A China Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400F sustained heavy damage after colliding with a row of pallets and containers on a snowy ramp at O’Hare Airport.
  • The incident occurred early Saturday morning while the 18-year-old freighter was taxiing to its offloading stand after arriving from Anchorage.
  • Video evidence shows the aircraft moving at a considerable speed when its left engines struck the stationary cargo platforms, damaging engine cowls and possibly ingesting debris.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONnAW4m7svM&t=2s

A China Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400F was heavily damaged after it plowed through a row of pallets and containers on a snowy ramp at O’Hare Airport early Saturday. According to One Mile At A Time, the 18-year-old freighter arrived from Anchorage just before 6 a.m. and was taxiing to its offloading stand when the mishap occurred.

Video shows the plane moving at a pretty good clip before its left engines contact about a half-dozen stationary cargo platforms. The engine cowls were dinged up by the multiple collisions and some flashes out the back of the engines suggest some debris went through. 

Russ Niles

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.
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