summary
- Severe storms in Buenos Aires caused a parked Boeing 737-700 to spin and collide with ground equipment, causing severe damage.
- An Air Argentina flight scheduled to fly between Buenos Aires and Mendoza was canceled due to damage to the aircraft.
- This incident is not the first time that extreme winds have damaged a parked aircraft. Similar incidents occurred in Brazil, France and Saudi Arabia.
Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires was hit by a severe storm this morning, with wind gusts exceeding 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour) in the area, according to the country’s weather service. The storm was witnessed at Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery International Airport (AEP), just over a mile from Argentina’s capital. Videos posted on social media showed an Air Argentina Boeing 737-700 jet being pushed out of place and spinning on its apron by the heavy storm.
what happened?
A video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by journalist Andrews Abreu shows a parked Air Argentina Boeing 737-700 spinning in the strong winds. The aircraft then struck and damaged ground equipment, including stairs and a ground power unit, but the extent of the aircraft’s damage is unknown. Nevertheless, Air Argentina has canceled the next scheduled flight between AEP and Mendoza Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport (MDZ).
The aircraft, registered LV-CAD, landed in AEP at 18:08 local time Saturday night after a flight from Santiago del Estero (SDE). He was then scheduled to fly to Mendoza on Sunday morning. However, the flight was canceled due to damage from the accident.
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 17-year-old Boeing 737-76N registered LV-CAD. The aircraft can accommodate a total of 128 passengers in a two-class configuration: eight Club Economy Class seats and 120 Economy Class seats. This aircraft is powered by two of his CFM International CFM56-7B22 engines and made its first flight on October 13, 2006.
Photo: Anibal Trejo | Shutterstock
The aircraft was delivered to European low-cost carrier SkyEurope Airlines on October 28, 2006, with the registration OM-NGF. It operated on a low-cost airline until January 2009 when it was put into storage. Then, on July 25, 2009, this aircraft was leased by Air Argentina from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) based on its current LV-CAD registration.
Abnormal weather
Sunday’s accident is not the first time an aircraft has been damaged by strong winds. In September 2021, an Azul ATR-72 was lifted and damaged by polar winds while parked at Maringa Regional Airport (MGF). Due to the damage, the aircraft, registered PR-TKJ, was taken out of service and flights between MGF and São Paulo Viracopos/Campinas International Airport (VCP) were subsequently cancelled.
Photo: Claudio Santisteban | Shutterstock
In August 2022, a similar incident occurred at Ajaccio Airport (AJA) on the French island of Corsica, where a Volotea Airbus A319 flight was damaged by a severe thunderstorm. Strong winds rocked the plane, which was parked on the tarmac, and sent debris, including a cargo container, flying across the tarmac. The 19-year-old Volotea A319 registered EC-MUX suffered the most damage, resulting in the aircraft being taken out of service for maintenance.
Finally, in November 2022, severe weather in Saudi Arabia damaged several aircraft, including a Saudia Airbus A330 and a Libyan Airlines A320, while landing at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). The Saudia A330 registration HZ-AQ25 encountered severe hail and turbulence while waiting over the airport, causing damage to the nose and cockpit. Meanwhile, a Libyan Airlines A320 registered 5A-LAK faced similar damage to the cockpit and nose after flying in the same adverse conditions as the Saudia plane.
