British Air Jet Rams Airport Building

4 people injured in Johannesburg incident
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2013 6:55 AM CST
British Air Jet Rams Airport Building
A British Airways jet is seen following its crash into a building in this YouTube screenshot.   (YouTube)

The wing of a British Airways jet hit an office building at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport last night, while taxiing in preparation for a flight to London. None of the more than 200 people aboard the plane were hurt, but four people in the building were, the BBC reports; an airport spokesman says they "sustained slight injuries and are fine." Images posted on social media show the plane's wing lodged in the building, having cut a swath of destruction through it.

The control tower "told them to take one taxi-way, and they took another one. They took the wrong one," an aviation authority spokesman explained. That taxiway turned out to be too narrow. "We were just taxiing along and then boom!" one passenger says. After about an hour passengers were allowed off the plane. Each was given a hotel room, but they weren't able to retrieve their luggage due to a fuel leak. (More British Airways stories.)

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