A multi-million-dollar Airbus A350-1000 belonging to Taipei-based carrier China Airlines has been grounded at Melbourne International Airport (MEL) after a jetbridge badly damaged the forward left-hand boarding door, partly ripping the door off its hinges.
The unfortunate accident occurred a short time after China Airlines flight CI-57 had arrived at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport on Tuesday morning after an overnight flight from Taiwan.
A China Airlines Airbus A350-941 aircraft -(B-18902, MSN 57) received major damage to the passenger door after it rolled backwards while in contact with the Aerobridge at Melbourne Airport (MEL), Australia few hours ago.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) April 14, 2026
The aircraft was scheduled for a departure to Taipei (TPE)… pic.twitter.com/SunTkKFbPw
It’s understood that all the passengers and crew had already deplaned when the accident happened, and thankfully, no one was injured when the plane rolled back with the jetbridge still attached to the side of the fuselage.
The cause of the accident is yet to be confirmed, although initial reports suggest that the chocks had not been placed correctly in front of and behind the tires of the massive widebody aircraft.
It’s believed the aircraft started to roll back with the forward left-hand door still open, causing the door to come into contact with the jetbridge and badly damaging it.
Unsurprisingly, the scheduled return flight to Taipei on Tuesday night has been cancelled, while engineers assess the damage and figure out what remedial work will need to be carried out to get the aircraft back into the air.
While unfortunate and unusual, this kind of accident is not unheard of. In 2022, the main cabin door of a Boeing 777 belonging to British Airways was completely ripped off at Cape Town International Airport when a tug driver accidentally started to push the plane back from the gate while it was still attached to the jetbridge.
The plane had arrived from London not long before the accident, and all passengers and crew had deplaned. The aircraft was due to be positioned at a remote gate until its return flight later the same day when the accident happened.
Oftentimes, these jetbridge accidents are caused by a malfunction with the jetbridge itself.
In 2023, for example, an American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded at Dublin International Airport after D2L was completely sheared off when the jetbridge unexpectedly dropped while attached to the plane.
Again, no passengers or crew were onboard the plane when the accident happened… and thankfully no ground staff was standing below the plane when the door came crashing down onto the tarmac below.
In August 2020, an Emirates 777-300 was badly damaged while parked at the gate in Manila when the jet bridge malfunctioned and started lifting while the forward left-hand door was open.
A similar accident occurred to a Lufthansa A340-300 jet at Denver International Airport in 2008 when the jet bridge suddenly and unexpectedly lowered. In that incident, the door was ripped clean off just moments after 204 passengers had boarded the aircraft.
The repair time for this kind of accident can vary massively depending on whether any structural damage has been caused to the aircraft fuselage. A 2008 accident involving an Airbus A340-300 operated by Virgin Atlantic saw the plane grounded for up to eight weeks due to structural damage.
Your title is “Air China”, it should be “China Airlines” instead.
As I was writing, I thought to myself: “I’d hate to be the person who gets China Airlines and Air China confused.” Oops!
The other incidents you mention involved planes may of aluminum alloys. Is this the first such incident involving a advanced carbon-based materials? Is it known how such materials are repaired and the length of time required?