JetBlue passengers left terrified after nose of their plane suddenly LIFTED into sky as they disembarked jet at JFK
- Hundreds of passengers thought they were getting off the Airbus A321 with its nose hanging in the air
- Airline blames ‘shift in weight and balance during disembarkation’
- Were YOU on the affected flight? Email dominic.yeatman@dailymail.com
Passengers arriving at New York’s JFK Airport on JetBlue had a flying experience when the nose of their plane tilted into the air as they disembarked.
Hundreds of people are believed to have boarded flight B6662 from Bridgetown, Barbados, which landed just after 8.30pm on Monday evening.
Those on board were invited to disembark from the front, but the poor weight distribution of the Airbus A321-231 led to the rear of the aircraft sinking to the tarmac and the front wheels rising more than 10 feet above the ground.
“Once at the gate, due to a weight and balance shift during disembarkation, the tail of the aircraft tilted backwards, causing the nose of the aircraft to rise and eventually return back down,” an airline spokesperson said.
“Safety is JetBlue’s number one priority; we are investigating this incident and the aircraft has been taken out of service for inspection.”
The JetBlue Airbus 321 appeared to be about to take off when its nose was in the air Monday evening while disembarking at New York’s JFK Airport
The four and a half hour flight from Bridgetown, Barbados was uneventful until it was time to deplane at JFK.
No injuries were reported aboard the eight-year-old plane, which had just completed its four-and-a-half-hour flight from the Caribbean.
Industry experts say such incidents are not uncommon when planes are poorly loaded.
Two years ago, a United Airlines Boeing 737 carrying part of the University of Southern California football team tilted backward while being unloaded in Lewiston, Idaho, leaving its front wheels off the ground and its nose pointing into the air.
JetBlue currently has 92 Airbus A321-231s in its fleet, of which 85 are in active service and seven are currently parked in storage, according to Aviationsourcenews.com
“This ultimately means that the aircraft will be grounded and a replacement aircraft will be needed to operate the next flight to Montego Bay,” the website said.
Plane spotters quickly speculated about the cause of the uneven weight distribution, joking that it could be a cargo of gold or even an elephant.
Footage filmed by shocked passengers showed the plane’s nose pointing into the air and its front wheels more than 10 feet above the ground.
Poor weight distribution was also blamed for a similar incident involving a United Airlines Boeing 737 that tilted upward in Lewiston, Idaho, two years ago while part of the University of Southern California football team was on board.
Airplane spotters were quick to suggest on X, formerly Twitter, what might have caused the terrifying airlift on the flight from Barbados to New York’s JFK Airport.
“We once sat on the tarmac for two hours after landing in a KLM 747 combi, because they had a real elephant in the back and we had to stay seated (playing counterweights) until they unloaded Dumbo,” wrote Jack D. Ruppelaar on X , formerly Twitter.
“It’s a Jet Boo Boo,” Michael@cinetic suggested.
“That’s eager to take off,” Daniel Wells added.
Were YOU on the affected flight? Email dominic.yeatman@mailonline.com.