Drivers Avoid Injury as Airliner Crushes 3 Trucks

A jumbo jet that somehow got onto a closed taxiway early Monday crushed three trucks at Los Angeles International Airport, damaging a wing and an engine on the aircraft.

The drivers of two big-rig dirt haulers and a pickup managed to get out of the way in time and were not injured, airport spokeswoman Nancy Kastles said.

“Drivers in all three vehicles saw the aircraft taxiing toward them. They stopped their vehicles and jumped out,” Kastles said.

There was no fire and no fuel leak.

The Boeing 747, flown by France-based Corsair, was carrying 310 passengers and 11 crew members on Flight 942 to Tahiti, a Federal Aviation Administration official said.

Although no one was hurt, one passenger who took a sedative for the long flight was taken to a hospital for observation, authorities said. The other passengers were taken to a hotel to wait for later flights.

Construction began in the area Sept. 7. The taxiway is closed between midnight and 7 a.m. to allow dirt to be hauled from the area to another construction zone a hundred yards away, Kastles said.

“The construction zone is pretty well marked with red lights that are very visible,” she said. “There were notices given to pilots on the conditions of the airfield, and air traffic control instructions.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating. FAA spokesman Mitch Barker in Seattle said an inquiry would be likely to include communications between the control tower and the Corsair pilot.

Because the taxiway is normally closed at the time, other flights were not delayed, officials said. The vehicles and plane were removed from the taxiway about seven hours later.