A bit about me,
I work at a repair station (aircraft maintenance hangar). The company maintains aircraft leased by a customer - three Boeing 737-700.
I am not involved with the maintenance side, as I work for the ground services division. Cleaning, bag service and aircraft pushback are a few of the things I do.
Anyway, I didn't die. So that was nice. If you ever find yourself near a running aircraft engine, stay as far away as you can. Stay safe!
I work at a repair station (aircraft maintenance hangar). The company maintains aircraft leased by a customer - three Boeing 737-700.
I am not involved with the maintenance side, as I work for the ground services division. Cleaning, bag service and aircraft pushback are a few of the things I do.
Last night, our final flight of the night came in. As I directed the aircraft toward the end of the J line, I brought it to a slow halt. At this point, the pilot will typically cut power to engines and my teammates will then approach the landing gear and chock the wheels.
Twenty seconds after having set the parking brake, engines 1 and 2 are still running. I approach the pilot window and flash a thumbs-up, to which he replied by forming a "T", as in "time out", with his hands. This signified a need for ground power meaning that the APU -Auxiliary Power Unit, a smaller turbine engine on the rear of the aircraft- had failed.
I step underneath the jet bridge and prepare the cables for connection, keeping the running engine in mind. I turn on the power unit. I turn a 180 and start walking and stop dead in my tracks because I realise I am three feet away from the ingestion zone. Now, this puts me approximately 23 feet from the engine, but even at idle speed it is capable of sucking you in from 20 feet away. I actually managed to forget the engine was running! This happened because the sound of the engines had become background noise.
Finally, engines were both cut for a bit while an air start unit got the plane going again. After unloading the plane, we managed to push the plane out (with engine 1 running). Out of habit, I clear the flight deck to start engine 2, to which the pilot replies, "you don't want me to do that - I'll push you right through the terminal". A slight error on my part!
Twenty seconds after having set the parking brake, engines 1 and 2 are still running. I approach the pilot window and flash a thumbs-up, to which he replied by forming a "T", as in "time out", with his hands. This signified a need for ground power meaning that the APU -Auxiliary Power Unit, a smaller turbine engine on the rear of the aircraft- had failed.
I step underneath the jet bridge and prepare the cables for connection, keeping the running engine in mind. I turn on the power unit. I turn a 180 and start walking and stop dead in my tracks because I realise I am three feet away from the ingestion zone. Now, this puts me approximately 23 feet from the engine, but even at idle speed it is capable of sucking you in from 20 feet away. I actually managed to forget the engine was running! This happened because the sound of the engines had become background noise.
Finally, engines were both cut for a bit while an air start unit got the plane going again. After unloading the plane, we managed to push the plane out (with engine 1 running). Out of habit, I clear the flight deck to start engine 2, to which the pilot replies, "you don't want me to do that - I'll push you right through the terminal". A slight error on my part!
Anyway, I didn't die. So that was nice. If you ever find yourself near a running aircraft engine, stay as far away as you can. Stay safe!
