DENVER-
A new type of bridge designed to allow passengers to exit from the front and rear of a plane collapsed over the wing of a United Airlines jetliner at Denver International Airport on Friday, damaging the Boeing 757 but causing no injuries, the airline said.
The cause of the collapse and the extent of the damage were not immediately known.
United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said Flight 965 had just arrived from Boston and the 184 passengers and crew were still on board. They exited safely through the intact section of the twin-bridge.
A union official said it was the second incident in Denver since their installation in August, although in the first case the damage was minimal.
“We don’t think they are safe. And it is unsafe for people to work under them. It is my understanding that in today’s incident they tried to connect it several times before and it was misaligned, then it collapsed,” said Joseph Tiberi of the International Association of Machinists in Washington, D.C.
Chuck Cannon, DIA spokesman, said United told him it was the first time a bridge had collapsed.
Neil Hutton, vice president of Dewbridge Airport Systems of Ottawa, Canada, said there are only eight such bridges, including five in Denver three in Vancouver, British Columbia. He said it was the first time the v-shaped bridges, one going to the front door and one to the back, had collapsed.
“We have dispatched a team to Denver. We have no idea yet what caused the collapse. But there is no safety issue we are aware of,” he said.
The bridges are supported by cables attached to a central structure, are fully automated and guided to the doors by a system using lasers. They are designed to speed the exits of passengers.
The collapse occurred in the rear section of the bridge, McCarthy said. The aircraft will be moved and repaired after the bridge is raised, she said.
The plane had been scheduled to fly to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, but that flight was canceled and the passengers were being booked on other flights.
The Denver bridges were installed last year and financed by United, the Dewbridge Web site said. Hutton declined to give the cost of the bridges.
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