I've stood directly under a 380 wing and compared it to my 777-300 next to it...i don't recall much difference in wing height.

And no way that wing was fully fueled, they're only going to Paris...what's that, 7 hrs max? far from full fuel for that pig...doubt droop was a factor.

Prob inexperienced CA on the 380...they've only had 'em a year maybe?

Takes awhile to know your airplane.

 

Don't see the big fuss here... Really think the RJ crew would notice the leaning tail in flight??? Pax probably just thought they were still taxiing. They should have just continued their flights. After all it was a near miss...

 

I get the fact that the 380 was in taxi and he should be responsible. BUT, the rj seems a little out of place to me. What was it doing there? Seems like the rj should have been pulled out of the taxi way to me. I guess we will see what the feds say.

 

They must have had their reasons, probably something to do with not hitting ground equipment...

 

Not sticking up for the AF captain, mind you, but can you imagine the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach if you were him right after realizing that jolting feeling was your career spinning down the toilet? Prior to this he must have been feeling like king of the world as a captain on the newest jet in the company. Ugh.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean. I hope the guy keeps his job in the end...he was taxiing too fast IMO but that's not worth career termination (as long as nobody got hurt).

 

This is my feeling exactly. I am sure the CA of that 380 is really upset over this. Nobody got hurt, but the repair of the 380 is not going to be inexpensive and the RJ might actually be a total write off.

From the video, it appears the 380 was moving along like LUV trying to get an intersection departure BUT - we are only looking at a cell phone video of a snapshot in time. The huge size of the 380 against the small stature of the RJ could also make things appear different than they really are. So we will have to wait and see what the NTSB says. I also wonder if you are in the 380, you may not realize how fast you are rolling along given the size and how far up you are sitting.

I really hope everyone keeps their career intact. I would hate to be the Captain that just caused $30+ million in damage I feel sorry for him/her.

 

Mechanic told me that there were 2 Capts up front. The one doing the driving was new on the A380, just getting checked out, and a check airman in the right seat!

 

ATC did clear them to taxi on a taxiway that was in fact not clear. Not sure how it is on the A380, but on some large jets it is impossible to see the wingtip and lighting was not good.

That C700 sure has a strong tail.

 

You can see a truck pass in front of Comair just before AF passed behind them, the AF Captain's on the hook for this one.