Wing breaks on El Al plane in Amsterdam, none hurt

737 jet with 150 passengers on board was being pulled to its take-off runway when plane hit airport fence

By ToI Staff 19 February 2016, 1:43 pm Edit

An El Al Boeing 737-800 on approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in 2012. (Andre Wadman/Wikipedia/GFDL 1.2)

Some 150 passengers were stranded in Amsterdam for the weekend after an El Al plane hit a fence at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, one of Europe’s largest airports, while it was being pulled to the runway by an airport tow truck.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the 737’s wing was damaged, putting the plane out of commission.

The accident occurred while passengers were on the plane, which was taxiing toward take-off. According to local reports, visibility was limited due to a thick blanket of fog.

El Al said all passengers had been sent to local hotels, and would be placed on a flight late Saturday. Many of the passengers are ultra-Orthodox Jews, and so can only board a new flight after sundown Saturday.

The accident does not appear to be related to El Al. The driver of the tow truck is a local airport employee.