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Low flying Ryanair jet blows roof tiles off roof - puts 82 year old in hospital
For once, Ryanair is in the news because of something unrelated to oddball fees or something silly their CEO said. Residents of the German village of Groß Grönau have pulled together to sue the Irish airline because they put an 82 year old woman in the hospital.
Apparently, a Ryanair jet flew so low over her house, that it actually blew roofing tiles off the roof, putting the poor woman into a shock. One villager told the local paper that she actually had to duck when the plane came in for its landing at the local Lübeck-Blankensee airport.
A group of 500 anti-noise-pollution protesters accused the airline of negligent bodily harm and willful property damage. Of course, as is often the case with airlines, Ryanair is rejecting any responsibility for the incident.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Larry Nov 25th 2009 7:48AM
good one Frankie...was thinking the same thing..it probably a virus.
Mark Nov 25th 2009 7:47AM
Airports get away with murder in the US. We live 14 nautical miles from the airport in Charlotte, NC. The planes are so low its as if we were 1 mile from the airport. Surely, this is for fuel conservation, but once again, the citizens pay the price of having these belching, ear shattering planes constantly overhead.
gene Nov 25th 2009 9:16AM
The airports are vital economic tools as is aviation in this country and others. If the aircraft are lower near your house, it actually burns more fuel and is less efficient so your theory is simply not correct. Obviously in this case they should investigate why the pilots were so low in this residential area and should look at all factors. It is easy to blame the pilots, however air traffic control could have assigned them this altitude and heading for a variety of reasons and it is incumbent upon pilots to adhere to ATC. If it is found they acted recklessly at all they should be dealt with accordingly.
David Nov 25th 2009 11:26AM
Why did you decide to live next to an airport?
David Nov 25th 2009 11:27AM
1 question, who was there first, your house or the airport.
ladywiccan47 Nov 25th 2009 12:44PM
you're right. My husband used to work at Charlotte's airport and the planes would come in so low one could see people in the windows
Rennie Nov 25th 2009 7:58AM
Ok, let's start with some basic questions. What condition was the woman's roof in at the time of the accident? Brand new? Aged? Already missing a few roof tiles? More likely than not she found the tiles on the ground on her property after a jet passed by, yet there is no evidence to suggest the fly-over was indeed the reason for them coming off. It's entirely possible they fell off on their own.
Was the woman standing inside her home when she "had to duck"? If so, why wasn't the portion of her home higher than 6 feet demolished? Or perhaps she was standing outside. Why weren't buildings destroyed? And for either scenario, why wasn't the plane destroyed when it hit a nearby obstruction? Because this woman didn't HAVE to duck, she decided to duck out of an unwarranted fear. It can be likened to a TV or movie viewer jumping around out of fear of being hit by bullets being shot during the program being shown on the screen.
placedorders Nov 25th 2009 10:18AM
Roof tile last a very long time. But if you had heard the noise that a roof tile would make tumbling down the roof you would duck too.
jeannie Nov 25th 2009 11:20PM
Teehee. Good questions! I especially liked the one about ducking and six foot ceilings...funny stuff.
Blue skies!
will Nov 25th 2009 8:03AM
I agree with Rennie on this one.
CW Nov 25th 2009 8:14AM
Buy a house near an airport or in the flightpath and then OMG, there really are airplanes at the airport. I guess society is responsible for their failure to plan. I would like to complain to silence those that live near the airport and bitch about the airplane noise. Akin to buying a house on a railroad track and wonder why trains have to take that route...
dt Nov 25th 2009 11:33AM
How about if you buy a house by an old airport that only serves prop planes? Then over 25 years time, businesses decide to bring in private jets at all time of the day and night. Then what do you do? Do you think we were stupid enough to purposely buy a house near an airport???
johhny Nov 25th 2009 8:17AM
The lower you fly the more fuel you use, Please people get some sense and read up before you open your mouths. The lower the plane the more fuel it uses got, get, good. Now go fly support the airlines..
johnny Nov 25th 2009 8:23AM
Oh, by the way take a day off and good enjoy your families. I'm sure that more exciting then proving your point to all the other bored morons here that have no life, no wife and no night life.... Enjoy the turkey with all the fixing you fools.. "What do they"? Oh! Yeah. Be good, Be full, Be happy.... Now go...
James Nov 25th 2009 8:25AM
Rennie, obviuosly you have never stood behind a jet.
Larry, ocean, waves and wind are nature, jet blast is not.
ttrexxx Nov 25th 2009 8:25AM
consider that 82 yr olds are a little off
Eubie Dooooo Nov 25th 2009 8:34AM
Yes I think Ryanair is fully responsible, The should not fly extremely low in a residential area.
Laurie Nov 25th 2009 8:48AM
About 10 yrs ago, we had a cargo jet fly over our house at a very low altitude. It scared the crap out of me, and left me paranoid of engin sounds for a very long time. I was about 13 when this happened. Every time after that event, I would run out side if I heard a low flying plane, or a heli. This kind of crap should not be happening. Airlines, and even the military should better monotor their pilots. I also had nightmares of planes crashing into my house. Or comming at me when I was in my driveway trying to crash into me. I know it sounds crazy, but these are the kind of effects that can happen to people who have had these experiences. My heart goes out to the women. I hope she's ok.
Michael Nov 25th 2009 9:26AM
What a piece of crap airline they are!
racendirt Nov 25th 2009 9:26AM
Rennie: You have to experience it to be critical. I was in my own home (metal roofed) when a jet divebombed it. I could hear a noise but couldn't see it. It came in with such speed and made such a horrific noise I thought it was going to crash and took cover. My roof whined so badly I expected it to fly apart. I don't know how low it got because I was more concerned about coming out alive. Don't know where it came from or where it was going. It was there one second and gone the next. And if you think I was rattled you should have seen my poor dog. Thought he would have a heart attack. I was extremely angry but living in a very rural area I had no way of knowing who to report it to. Never had the experience before or since. It was terrifying. I couldn't even identify what it was until it was already in the distance.