Man seriously injured after fall from rear of Jet2 Airbus A330 at Manchester Airport
April 13, 2026
The UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) dispatched a team of investigators to Manchester Airport after a man was seriously injured following a fall from an Airbus A330 by Jet2. The man, believed to be an engineer, remains in hospital.
Engineer falls from the rear open door of a Jet2 Airbus A330
Air accident investigators were sent to Manchester Airport (MAN) on the morning of Saturday, 11 April, after a man fell from the rear of an Airbus A330-200 operating on behalf of Jet2. An investigation is now underway to establish the cause of the incident in which the individual suffered arm and leg fractures as a result of the fall.
The incident unfolded just after 08:00 local time as the aircraft was between flights. The aircraft, registered at G-VYGL, is operated by Air Tanker Limited and leased to Jet2 for the summer months.
The aircraft had arrived at Manchester Airport from Tenerife at 19:19 on the evening of 10 April and was undergoing checks at the time of the incident. The man involved is reported to be a line engineer who is employed by the third-party engineering contractor who was working on the plane at the time.
BREAKING: Manchester Airport horror as man seriously hurt after falling from Jet2 plane https://t.co/GOta6U1bcI
— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) April 11, 2026
Photographs which appeared on social media following the incident showed the back of the aircraft with the rearmost passenger door open on the left side. On the apron beneath the tail of the aircraft are several airport emergency vehicles, including fire appliances and ambulances.
The man has been taken to hospital for “suspected serious injuries”, the Northwest Ambulance Service said, adding that they were called at 08:22 on Saturday, 11 April to reports that “someone had fallen from height”. The injured man was transferred to a local hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.
A Jet 2 spokesperson told The Independent, “We are aware of an incident that took place at Manchester Airport on the morning of Saturday 11 April involving an individual from a third-party provider.”
“We are unable to confirm further details at present; however, we can confirm that a full investigation has been launched. We are doing our best to provide support to everyone who needs it.”
The AAIB is investigating the incident
In an update from the AAIB, the organisation confirmed that specialist investigators had been sent to the scene and enquiries had begun. The AAIB will be keen to learn how the individual came to fall from the aircraft and whether all prescribed safety protocols were being followed at the time.
As any aircraft doors left open on the ground are either supposed to be equipped with sets of stairs or at least a high-visibility safety strap across the open doorway, reminding all on board that there are no stairs.
In the photos taken at the time of the incident, there is a set of stairs present, although parked some way from the bottom of the exit, with no safety strap in place across the open doorway.
The aircraft involved was back in the air the following day, operating a Manchester to Tenerife rotation as flight LS845. According to Airbus, the height of the rear passenger door on an Airbus A330 from the ground is around six meters (20ft).
Falls from aircraft are uncommon but not unprecedented
Although individuals falling from aircraft is uncommon, it is not unprecedented. The last such event in the UK was at East Midlands Airport in December 2024, involving a Boeing 737 operated by TUI Airways.
As the aircraft’s front passenger door was being closed by the senior cabin crew member, the forward steps were pushed away from the aircraft. The cabin crew member was unable to stop herself from falling into the gap created between the steps and the aircraft, resulting in serious injuries.
According to the subsequent AAIB report, the step removal occurred despite the aircraft door being open and a dispatcher still at the top of the steps. Multiple dispatchers and ramp staff were working around the steps at the time, and it was not clear who had responsibility for checking that the aircraft door was closed and the steps were clear.
The presence of one of these dispatchers at the bottom of the steps, with another stepping off the bottom, meant that the ramp staff moving the steps assumed that the door closing procedure was complete. The process of door closure and step removal had been the subject of a procedural workaround at East Midlands Airport and other UK airports where the ground handling company operated.
The AAIB found that this procedural workaround had been happening for many years and had not been identified by audits.
Featured image: Riik@mctr / Wikimedia Commons
