Why do ground staff never let you go under the plane wings when boarding?

Answer 1

You have no business going on the tarmac unless you work for the airline or own the airline!

Just keep walking through the portable walk-way and take a seat next to a window and satisfy your nosiness by observing the actions of the employees!

Answer 2

Generally speaking, there are very few occasions where you would board an aircraft directly from the ramp. However, there are times when boarding at a small airport where you may have to.

There are many reasons that we (ramp crew) do not let passengers walk underneath the wings of an aircraft. Aircraft with wing mounted engines are especially dangerous.

1.The engines can still be very hot from previous flight.
2. There is the possibility of jetA fuel leaking from the wings if over fueled. Trust me, you don't want to get that stuff on you--it reeks!
3. There are movable parts on the wings. The pilots normally do not move these parts without warning the ground crew prior to doing so, but you never know.
4. During some types of weather, water condenses on the underside of the wing and drips off. This wouldn't hurt you, but it still isn't pleasant if you're not expecting it.
5. Security! We employees are scrutinized very closely upon being hired...back round checks from, the airline, customs, TSA, and the local airport authority before being allowed to work around aircraft un escorted. Passengers have no such checks done on them, so they pose a potential security risk. We keep passengers away from any area they don't absolutely need to be in for boarding.

I'm sure they may even be a few more reasons, but those seem to be the most pertinent to me.

I hope this information helps.

Answer 3

They don't let you for the following safety reasons:
1) The engines are VERY sensitive machines. if a small metal shard goes into it, it will be damaged and unable to fly. Passengers have luggage and clothes that are FOD (Foreign Object Debris/Damage) hazards. They keep people away from the engines to save them from FOD issues.
2) The flying controls are dangerous. (the moving parts of the wing eg the flaps, slats and ailerons). By this point, the pilot and co-pilot are in the cockpit. If the hydraulics are on, and the pilot nudges the controls, the control surfaces could move, hurting or even killing someone.
3) To stop people intently damaging the aircraft. You never know if someone wants to damage the plane.
4) The groundcrew have already serviced the aircraft. Any untrained passenger could bend/break part of the aircraft, invalidating the groundcrew member's work and potentially stopping the flight.
5) There are sharp, hot and cold parts all over the airframe (pitostatics, engines, fuel, possibly Liquid Oxygen). They don't want people injured.

All in all, it's better if the passengers don't touch anything they're not trained to touch.

Answer 4

Several reasons:

If there are engines under the wing they don't want to risk you

being sucked in
pushing anything in
dropping anything that might get sucked in.

Also, wings have things called alerons and flaps which may suddenly move and hit you.

Headroom is often not as high as it might look.

There may be fuel leak and the ground may also be slippery.

Bits and pieces, lightning conductors and spiky tubes and aerials etc. stick out from under aeroplanes. It would be a bad thing if a paying customer got impailed on one of them or broke one.

Any injury caused to a passenger, even if it's their own fault, will cost the airline possibly hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Answer 5

First of Its the rules for a number of reasons mainly the safety of Passangers ie yourself, fuel could spill and dont forget the wing has moving parts such as flaps and Aerilons that are operated from the flight deck.
Also the exhaust fuel is hot. But there are loads of other reasons hope this helps a bit.

Answer 6

Pretty good answer above, but passenger planes don't have liquid oxygen! So don't worry about that, the control surfaces moving and injuring you are probably the main reasons though.
That and to keep your sticky fingers away from anything that may hurt you.
The engines won't suck you in cos' the pilot won't start them till your all tucked up safely inside and the door is closed, but they may still be warm.
Security nowadays is another big problem.

Answer 7

The wing is dangerous, there is thousands of pounds of jet fuel in them, engines are very hot, backup pitot probes are somtimes located on the underbody of the aircraft somewhat near the wing, and if you touch one of these, some are so hot they will melt the skin off your hand... finally, security, you could be planting somehting on with wing or landing gear if your down there and I cant think of a single reason that you would need to approach the wing of an airliner...

Answer 8

all of the reasons bove its a dangerous area fuel, moving control surfaces etc, security.

1 point-- the engines arn't normally running when your boarding the aircraft, they are started during or after the pushback

Answer 9

None of the above

Because one time, way back when, some moron did something stupid and damaged a wing, so now the rest of us have to walk around.

Answer 10

FAA regulations. Ensure safety of passengers