Powerful winds pushed a massive American Airlines plane from its gate at Dallas Fort Worth Airport Tuesday — as severe thunderstorms battered the state.
The nose of the American Airlines 737-800 — with a weight of 90,000 pounds — was shoved along the tarmac after disconnecting the loading bridge, shocking video shows.
The plane was one of “several” that were affected by the 80 mph gusts, prompting the airport to ground as many as 700 flights, according to American Airlines.
The same strong winds also crushed a large commercial warehouse near the airport, leaving its roof crumpled.
Fortunately, no one was on the plane and maintenance crews are “currently conducting thorough inspections and will make any needed repairs,” an airline spokesperson said.
More than 90% of departures from D-FW airport were delayed or canceled Tuesday morning as severe storms struck Texas and its neighboring states.
There were widespread power outages in north Texas, where residents were also grappling with an oppressive heat wave.
The heat index — a combination of air temperature and humidity to indicate how the heat feels to the human body — reached triple digits in parts of south Texas and was expected to stay there for several days.
More than 300,000 customers in Dallas County alone lacked electricity Tuesday as the outages extended into rural east Texas, according to PowerOutage.us.
“This ultimately will be a multi-day power outage situation,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Tuesday after declaring a disaster area.
The storms weren’t expected to ease up by Tuesday evening, with officials warning that winds as strong as 70 mph could cause damage less than two weeks after hurricane-force winds knocked out power to more than 800,000 homes and businesses.
Seven people were killed in Cooke County, Texas, from a tornado that tore through a mobile home park Saturday, officials said, and eight deaths were reported across Arkansas.
At least 25 others were killed in Oklahoma, Missouri and Kentucky over the weekend.
With Post wires
