Air China Boeing 747 grounded in New York following gate refuelling incident
A Boeing 747-8 operated by Air China reportedly suffered a fuel leak at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport early on Monday, forcing cancellation of the flight. No injuries were reported in or around the aircraft, which was expected to operate flight CA982 from New York to Beijing that day. The leak is said to have occurred between 1am and 2am while the plane was parked at the gate,…
On Monday early morning, a Boeing 747-8 operated by Air China experienced a fuel leak at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. This incident led to the cancellation of flight CA982, which was scheduled to depart from New York to Beijing. The fuel leak occurred when the plane was parked at the gate and being refueled, around 1am to 2am. The leak was caused by a fuel truck moving away with two hoses still connected to the plane, damaging the fuel ports and spilling fuel onto the tarmac.
Several passengers, who were booked on the flight, received a cancellation notice from Air China stating that the reason for cancellation was "fuel guarantee". However, the notice did not mention the fuel leak or any damage to the aircraft. Passengers reported that they were left waiting at the airport until the morning when they were finally informed about the cancellation.
Air China later confirmed the cancellation on social media, attributing it to the "unusual movement" of a fuel truck during ground refueling. The airline stated that they had initiated their emergency contingency plan to assist affected passengers. The incident was listed by the Aviation Safety Network, noting it as an incident involving a refueling process gone wrong.
The Boeing 747-8, registered as B-2486, is a four-engine widebody aircraft that entered service with Air China in 2014.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
