Defective Bracket Blamed for Airport Jet Bridge Collapse

Investigators found a defective metal bracket on a jet bridge that collapsed and injured six people at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, officials said Sunday. Metal brackets will be replaced on the jet bridge that collapsed Saturday and on five other jet bridges made by the same manufacturer, the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a statement. The department said 33 jet bridges made by the manufacturer were inspected and deemed safe to use. The rest of the airport's jet bridges will also be inspected.

All six people injured in the collapse were released from the hospital early Sunday, the department said. Southwest Airlines said the jet bridge failed while paramedics were helping a passenger with a medical problem off Flight 822 after it arrived from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the AP reports. Southwest said the jet bridge, which connects the plane to the terminal, failed while medics were helping the passenger outside the aircraft. Remaining passengers safely exited the plane using air stairs, the airline said. (A pickup truck hit a Southwest plane at the same airport earlier this year.)

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