A Tui cabin crew member suffered serious injuries after plunging from an aircraft staircase.
The veteran crew member had opened the aircraft door, expecting the movable stairs to be attached, when staff pulled them away.
The flight attendant, who had more than three decades of service, attempted to grip the door as the stairs were pulled back – but fell through the gap onto the concrete below.
Her fall came at approximately 4.30pm on December 16 last year aboard a delayed service bound for Lanzarote, according to findings published by the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB).
The veteran crew member had opened the aircraft door, expecting the movable stairs to be attached, when staff pulled them away (file photo)
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After being rushed to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for treatment, she faced a lengthy spell off work injured.
The AAIB probe detailed how she sustained multiple fractures after the fall.
It also described in detail how she had been placing her left foot on the stairs when ground personnel suddenly shifted them away from the plane.
Meanwhile, a senior dispatcher who was delivering documents to the flight crew at the top of the staircase managed to seize the handrail, stopping his own fall.
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A senior dispatcher at East Midlands Airport (pictured) who was delivering documents to the flight crew almost suffered the same fate
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Seven ground personnel were involved in the incident, including three dispatchers tasked with aircraft coordination and four ramp workers responsible for ground operations.
The AAIB’s investigation determined that no clear protocol existed regarding who was meant to check whether the aircraft door was secured and the stairs were safely positioned before removal.
Ground staff mistakenly believed the door had been shut when they started to remove the stairs.
The AAIB uncovered that staff at East Midlands Airport – and other UK locations – operated by a ground handling firm had been using “unauthorised” shortcuts when closing doors and removing stairs.
Dispatchers routinely positioned themselves atop the stairs to close the doors – despite neither having proper qualifications nor authorisation for these duties.
The investigation revealed that qualified ramp personnel were standing below the platform near the aircraft, rather than closing the doors in the “proper” way from the top of the stairs.
“The practice was so commonplace that even those who were aware it was not allowed did not see a need to challenge it or report it as a safety concern,” the AAIB report said.
These breaches had gone unchallenged for years without being picked up during safety audits.
The AAIB confirmed that the ground handling company issued immediate safety alerts mandating that only qualified ramp personnel interact with aircraft steps and prohibiting dispatchers from operating stabilisers or side rails.
New protocols now require dispatchers to participate in pre-turnaround briefings to ensure all team members can identify them during operations.
East Midlands Airport said its involvement was limited to air traffic control summoning fire services as first responders.
“We remain fully committed to working collaboratively with all operators on the airport to help prevent a similar incident from happening in the future,” a spokesman said.