An airport worker has plummeted several metres from a plane onto tarmac in Jakarta, Indonesia after portable stairs were removed when he wasn’t looking.
The flight coordinator took a heavy tumble, landing in a heap on Monday, after stepping out of the TransNusa Airlines Airbus A320, not knowing his safe passage down had been moved just moments earlier.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Airport staff member falls out of plane onto tarmac.
He suffered several injuries in the fall but they are not thought to be life-threatening.
The horrible moment was caught on camera and showed how concerned onlookers began shouting and rushing to help, with several documents the worker was holding also sent sprawling across the ground.
TransNusa said the incident was caused by a breakdown in communication between the flight coordinator and the officer in charge of the passenger boarding stairs.
TransNusa said the worker involved in the accident “has received medical treatment and is in good condition”.
“Safety is the top priority for TransNusa in every aspect of flight operations,” the company said.
“In relation to this incident, we have coordinated with (ground handling contractor PT Jasa Angkasa Semesta) to enhance security procedures and implement stricter prevention measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We are committed to continually improving safety standards and ensuring that all our operational activities proceed safely and smoothly.”
Jakarta Airport authorities are also investigating.
TransNusa is based in Jakarta and launched in 2005. It halted operations in 2020 due to the pandemic before the company was sold and repositioned as a “premium service carrier”.