That’s not supposed to happen: JetBlue aircraft's nose lifts in air during deplaning
A JetBlue aircraft lost its balance and tipped so far back that its nose lifted up in the air during disembarking at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport Sunday night.
“Once at the gate, due to a shift in weight and balance during deplaning, the tail of the aircraft tipped backward causing the nose of the aircraft to lift up and eventually return back down,” JetBlue told CNN in a statement.
JetBlue did not respond immediately to Paste BN’s request for comment.
The plane was an Airbus A321, inbound from Barbados, according to FlightAware.
More: Ask the Captain: Is more seats on one side of the aisle a balance issue?
Sinead Bovell was allegedly a passenger on the flight and shared the “scary” experience on TikTok.
In the video, Bovell said she was seated toward the back of the aircraft. About half of the passengers deplaned when the aircraft “abruptly tipped backward so quickly and intensely that the tail of the plane hit the pavement and that the jet bridge and part of the plane door broke.”
Bovell was told by staff that the nose of the plane was about 10 feet in the air and the remaining passengers had to reposition themselves to rebalance the aircraft. Once the aircraft tipped back down, the passengers slowly deboarded “two rows at a time.”
“There were no injuries reported and no disruptions to airport operations,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, told Paste BN in a statement.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for Paste BN based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.