Watch: Aircraft’s nose tilts up during deplaning at JFK Airport

Team Udayavani, Oct 25, 2023, 9:33 AM IST

A startling incident occurred at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City when a parked JetBlue aircraft experienced an imbalance of weight during deplaning. This led to the front end of the aircraft lifting off the ground, causing panic among both passengers and ground staff.

Visuals of the incident have circulated on social media capturing the harrowing experience. The videos quickly gained traction.

So…guessing weight balance on a jetliner is important after all? #JetBlue #JFK Being told it happened while passengers were still deplaning, no word yet on possible injuries. pic.twitter.com/66OoPJZF3k

— Brian Thompson (@BrianForNJ) October 23, 2023

Another view of this evening’s JetBlue A321 incident at JFK. Looks to be N959JB. pic.twitter.com/a05nynQzev

— Ryan Ewing (@FlyingHighRyan) October 23, 2023

In one video footage, passengers are seen standing near their seats as they prepared to disembark, but an announcement urged them to move towards the center of the aircraft to address the crisis.

Tiktoker was on the JetBlue flight that tipped up at JFK pic.twitter.com/PJuexW7BVu

— Sam Ro 📈 (@SamRo) October 23, 2023

According to media reports, the Airbus A321-231 arriving from Barbados displayed a highly unusual scene upon landing. Fortunately, after a brief period, the flight returned to its normal position.

A spokesperson for JetBlue addressed the media, attributing the incident to “A shift in weight and balance during deplaning.” The spokesperson explained that this shift caused the tail of the aircraft to tip backward, resulting in the nose of the aircraft lifting before returning to the ground.