A marshaller at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) was seriously injured Monday night (Aug. 24) after being struck by an aircraft that was pushing back from the gate, according to reports.
“We can confirm that emergency measures were deployed at the YUL International Montreal-Trudeau Airport at around 7:30 p.m. following an unfortunate accident involving an aircraft and a member of the airport community,” reads a statement from the airport.
The incident involved a French Bee Airbus A350 that was preparing to depart Montreal for Paris Orly Airport.
According to Radio-Canada, the employee, who has not been identified, reportedly tripped and was struck by the aircraft while it was moving.
One witness told the outlet that the worker went underneath the plane.
Passengers also reportedly witnessed the accident. “A lot of [passengers] were screaming,” one passenger told Radio-Canada.
The employee was taken to hospital, the airport said. He suffered serious injuries, according to the Montreal police service, which was unable to comment further. The Canadian Press reports that the worker is in life-threatening condition.
According to FlightAware, French bee flight BF5761 eventually departed at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday.
It appears the flight was originally set to leave Montreal on Saturday night but had been delayed due to a technical issue.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating.
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