Lorry ‘collides with plane waiting to take off’ at Heathrow
A passenger plane was grounded at Heathrow after an apparent collision with an airport lorry.
Witnesses said the vehicle crashed into the wing of the LOT Polish Airlines jet while it was being loaded with fuel and supplies.
Images appeared to show part of a wing tip almost broken off the Boeing 737 aircraft after getting caught in the side of the lorry.
The vehicle carried branding belonging to Menzies Aviation, which provides baggage handling, plane fuelling and supply services to airlines.
Firefighters and airport staff rushed to the scene but no injuries have been reported.
The airline was forced to cancel the plane’s flight to Warsaw, Poland, and the incident was said to have delayed other flights.
A man sitting in the adjacent plane described the crash in footage of the aftermath posted on Facebook.
He said: ‘A truck that normally fills the planes with food for passengers has been in a collision with the wing of a Moscow flight.
‘The fire brigade arrived and you can see where the wing has embedded in the side of the truck.’
The lorry appeared to have caught the bottom half of the plane’s Split Scimitar winglet, a relatively new type of wing type which improves fuel efficiency by reducing drag.
Heathrow and Menzies Aviation have been approached for comment.
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