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An American Airlines employee is being called a hero for his fast thinking.
Surveillance video from DFW Airport shows a man jump into a rolling fueling truck. He stepped on the brakes to avoid a crash and likely a huge explosion.
The serious accident was avoided thanks to longtime American Airlines employee Darren Carbone. He was helping guide a plane back away from the gate at Concourse C when he noticed the runaway truck headed towards other planes.
The truck is a fueler. According to the airline, it was rolling backwards on the tarmac Tuesday without a driver until Carbone literally sprang into action.
“A fuel truck is basically a bomb. It's got a tank in the back with thousands of gallons of gasoline, very volatile,” explained retired airline pilot turned aviation consultant Denny Kelly.
The airline says Carbone immediately ran toward the truck, climbed inside and stopped it before anyone got hurt.
In a statement to FOX 4 News, American Airlines said “"We applaud our team member's quick thinking and action to prevent any injury to personnel as well as damage to aircraft or other property at our largest hub."
Kelly agrees.
“What he did was absolutely the right thing for him to do. And the truck — as it goes, it’s building up speed. If he hadn't had stopped it, it could very easily have run into an airplane full of people,” Kelly said. “This guy's a hero as far as I'm concerned. That could've been a disaster.”
American Airlines says an investigation is underway. The fuel vendor is looking into the incident to determine how and why the fuel truck ended up in motion. Carbone says he just grateful no one got hurt.