Grounded plane smashes door into aerobridge after rolling BACKWARDS while on runway

Susanna Siddell
Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:42:37 +0000

A grounded plane has smashed a door into an aerobridge after it rolled backwards while on the runway of a major airport.

The China Airlines Airbus A350, which was set to carry hundreds of passengers to Taipei, caused havoc at Melbourne International Airport early on Tuesday morning.

In the chaotic ordeal, the jet bridge caused extensive damage to the front left boarding door by ripping it off its hinges.

While the incident's cause is not currently confirmed, it is believed the aircraft's chocks were wrongly placed before and behind the plane, allowing it to freely roll back.

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The jet had only just arrived at Melbourne Airport after arriving overnight from Taiwan.

However, all passengers and airline crew had already disembarked the aircraft. As a result, there were no reported injuries.

Currently, engineers are assessing the damage taken by the plane's body and deciding what tasks must be actioned to allow the plane to resume flying.

The flight to Taipei scheduled to take off later this evening has been cancelled.

The incident took place during routine grounding operations at the major international travel hub.

The Australian Transport Safety Burea (ATSB), which is the agency accountable for civil aviation safety investigations, has acknowledged the crash.

They have further confirmed they are reviewing the ordeal as a "significant ground incident".

On the whole, the agency is accountable for the scrutiny ground control procedures and compliance with safety regulations - as well as aircraft systems.

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Melbourne Airport is one of the world's busiest international gateways - with around 35 million passengers passing through the hub annually.

Last May, the airport celebrated its first April with more than a million international travellers - as well as a further two million domestic passengers.

The April figure marked a 16 per cent and four per cent jump on international and domestic passengers.

The airport's aviation boss Jim Parashos said that "demand for both international and domestic flights continues to grow".

He added: “The back-to-back public holidays in the midst of school holidays created a blockbuster travel period, and travellers clearly made the most of it.

"We also welcomed around 16,000 delegates attending the Amway China Leadership Seminar, an event hosted in Melbourne in April. Events like this are a powerful reminder of how important destination marketing is.

"In an increasingly competitive global market, attracting major international delegations and conferences to Melbourne has significant benefits for our visitor economy, from hotels and restaurants to transport and tourism operators.

"To keep pace with demand, we’re working with our airlines to deliver an expansion of the international terminal and a third runway to ensure our airfield has the capacity to serve Victoria’s growing population."