This is a firsthand account of a truly remarkable and terrifying experience that took place at Pearson Airport in Zone 5, where I worked as a Lead Station Attendant for Air Canada. I was preparing for my outbound flight to LHR 747 jumbo and was accompanied by one of my station attendants as we headed to the south hold to search for our pallets to load on the upper deck combi.
As we were in the south hold, we suddenly saw an Air Canada plane that had missed its gate make a u-turn and head towards gate 104. The plane then accelerated its engines at full throttle, causing a powerful jet blast to come in our direction. The force was so intense that we had no choice but to hide behind a pallet for safety. The pallet started shaking violently, bouncing up and down as if there was an earthquake happening. We were filled with fear as we thought the pallet was going to come loose from its dolly.
To our utter shock, several LD3 containers flew over our heads, and we truly believed that we were going to lose our lives in that moment. My station attendant, who I will refer to as Wayne, was known for being soft-spoken and a nice guy. However, the sudden and dangerous turn of events seemed to bring out a different side of him, as he became extremely angry and grabbed our tractor to race to gate 104.
Wayne didn’t wait for the passengers to disembark and instead stormed through them, making his way into the cockpit, with our ramp manager right behind him, trying to calm him down. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and the pilot apologized for the incident. However, there were rumors of more to the story, but we may never know what truly happened that day.
In conclusion, this experience was truly a test of our courage and strength, and it taught me to always be prepared for the unexpected. Despite the fear and chaos, it is a memory that will always be etched in my mind.
