Things got interesting for a planeload of passengers leaving LAX, bound for Narita, Japan via Flight 61 on Monday. The Japan Airlines Boeing 747 was pulling away from Gate 101 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal in route to the taxiway at 1:30 p.m., with 245 souls on board, when something unexpected occurred.
The vacuum created by the air intake on the left outboard engine was so strong that it pulled an empty baggage container, measuring 5′ x 5′ x 4′, from a nearby cart and sucked the hefty metal box into an engine housing.
This freak accident put the 747-400 out of commission. The crew of 18 and the planeload of passengers were removed from the plane and began the nasty business of making alternate arrangements….heavy sigh.
Check out video of the baggage container lodged in the jet engine below.