Sonali Tiwary
A GetJet Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying for Wizz Air, tipped backward on June 10, 2025, at Haugesund Airport in Norway. The unusual incident happened after the plane landed from Gdansk, Poland.
The aircraft’s nose lifted several feet into the air while its tail touched the ground. Pictures of the tilted plane quickly spread across social media, showing the Boeing 737 in this precarious position.
The incident occurred during the unloading process after all passengers had safely left the aircraft. “Passengers, crew members, or ground personnel were not injured,” confirmed GetJet Airlines CEO Inga Duglas.
Jan Ove Solstrand, Operations Manager at Haugesund Airport, explained to local media that a weight imbalance caused the incident. “The aircraft tipped backward due to a weight imbalance, with a heavier load at the aft of the 737-800,” he said.
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Aircraft balance works on a simple principle – weight must be distributed properly around what experts call the “center of gravity”. When unloading a plane, crews should remove weight from the back first before emptying the front compartments. In this case, it appears baggage was removed from the front while the back remained heavy, causing the plane to tip.
“Ideally, ground crew should unload cargo from the rear first before removing bags from the forward hold,” noted aviation safety reports. The Boeing 737-800 usually handles weight shifts better than longer planes, but still needs careful handling.
The incident damaged the aircraft’s tail section, leaving a dent in the fuselage. The plane was taken out of service for repairs and flown to Šiauliai, Lithuania, at a low altitude of 9,000 feet for safety reasons.
Passengers waiting for the return flight to Gdansk faced an eight-hour delay as GetJet sent a replacement Airbus A321 from Lithuania to complete the journey.
To prevent such incidents, airports and airlines can use simple safety measures. These include following proper unloading sequences, using tail stands (special supports that prevent tipping), better training for ground crews, and improving communication between flight and ground staff.
Similar incidents have happened before. In 2021, a United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER tipped at Lewiston Airport in Idaho, and in 2023, a JetBlue Airbus A321 tipped at New York’s JFK Airport due to improper unloading.
While repair costs weren’t specified by GetJet, aviation maintenance experts suggest that structural repairs to a commercial aircraft’s fuselage can range from $100,000 to over $1 million depending on damage severity. The aircraft will only return to service after repairs are completed and approved by both the manufacturer and aviation authorities.
GetJet Airlines is working with the ground handling company to investigate exactly what went wrong. “We are currently working with the management of the ground handling company to understand the root cause of the incident,” said Duglas. “Safety remains our absolute priority at all times.”
