May 31, 2022 Avoiding a Costly Nose Job

The Liberty Gazette

May 31, 2022

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: It was a travel day for Dr. Kevin Klauer, CEO of the American Osteopathic Association. I don’t know where he was headed, but it doesn’t matter. He was waiting to board his flight at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. As travelers often are, he was drawn to the activity on the ramp on the other side of enormously grand picture windows.

Meanwhile, ramp workers went about their business directing airplanes to their gates or readying them for departure. Some were tootling around in golf carts modified with coolers on the back, bringing drinks and sandwiches to loaders, who would deposit the amenities in the galley for flight attendants to hand out above 10,000 feet. It was a busy day, as usual. 

Then, in front of an audience of hundreds, someone hopped off his golf cart momentarily. The approximate value of the customized cart was somewhere between $4,500 and $10,000. You’ll see why that matters momentarily. 

Dr. Klauer was quick on the draw to capture the drama on his phone as it unfolded, or, shall we say, unwound. The driverless cart had become stuck in reverse, the motor was running, and the steering was engaged. In a matter of seconds, it was spinning wildly out of control. Ramp workers gathered ‘round but kept a distance. The situation was too dangerous for anyone to try to grab the cart to stop it. With each counter-clockwise rotation, the cart filled with soda, beer, wine, Biscoff cookies, and Pringles came perilously closer to an American Airlines Embraer 145 regional jet parked at one of the gates. Possibly, the airplane Dr. Klauer was about to board.

The growing crowd of passengers witnessing the brewing catastrophe surmised that on the next full turn, there would be impact. The weight and velocity of the runaway vehicle threatened to take out the airliner’s nosewheel, putting the airplane out of service until it was repaired.  

Back when the Embraer 145 was in production, you could expect to spend around $13-$15 million for a new one. About half the cost of a Gulfstream. These days, you can probably find a deal on a pre-owned EMB145 for about $8 million. I don’t know what a nose gear assembly might have cost, but that would not have been the sum total. The cost of finding another aircraft, juggling gates, and moving passengers would have been added. 

Fortunately, those enormous bills were thwarted when one brave tug operator jumped on his tug and rammed the errant snack cart, spilling its contents all over the ramp. Even though the hero couldn’t have heard them through the thick glass, the crowd in the waiting area applauded and cheered. 

The cart was trashed, drink cans burst, and none of the perishables could be served, but the airplane was unscathed. The loss was minimal compared to what it would have been had no one intervened.

Bravo to the tug driver. You can see the video posted by Dr. Klauer, a/k/a @Emergidoc, on Twitter, where it went viral.

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