Shocking footage emerges of Indonesian airport ground staff member falling metres from plane onto tarmac
WARNING: CONFRONTING FOOTAGE
Shocking vision of an Indonesian airport ground staff member falling metres from a plane door onto the tarmac has gone viral on social media.
The alarming seven-second clip — shared to X — depicted a staff member stepping backwards out of a TransNusa Airlines aircraft at the same moment two oblivious colleagues wheeled the portable stairs away from him and the plane.
Airport staff member falls through the air from an A320. Credit: Sanjay Lazar
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Staff member steps back to where the stairs had been removed. Credit: Sanjay Lazar
In an unfortunate case of wrong place wrong time, the man was seen stepping backwards towards the stairs with his eyes fixed inside the Airbus A320 at the very moment the stairs had been separated from his path.
Falling hopelessly through the air before hitting the tarmac, the man’s arms and legs flailed as documents released from his grasp were launched into different directions.
The person recording the footage — whose impeccable timing has been questioned online — could be heard crying out for the unaware staff members to take notice of the situation.
Documents were launched into the air. Credit: Sanjay Lazar
“I never understand how people are there at the right time in the right place to record such incidents,” one X user said.
Users with backgrounds in aviation suggested the incident is a genuine fear for ground crew.
“How did they remove the stepladder without (aircraft) door close? Isn’t that basic SOP! This is the worst nightmare for any ground staff/crew,” another responded.
“I always fear this gap,” one person said.
Despite all staff pictured wearing high visibility vests, the incident was not prevented.
Local media has reported the man did not suffer any major injuries.
TransNusa Airlines is based in Jakarta and offers air passage through Singapore, China, and Indonesia.
WA Health has recorded a surge in people returning from Bali with dengue fever. iStock Credit: istock