KBHM flight ops were having to deal with a very heavy storm last night (1/22/17) in addition to a disabled plane that was blocking the long runway (rwy24). I didn’t hear what caused the plane to be out there stuck, but the folks in the tower kept telling other pilots that it could not be moved until the danger from lightening abated. Seems odd? I was wondering if anyone knew what happened? Did the passengers get taken off the plane?
Wild ass guess here: if the aircraft had to be de-fueled before being dragged out of the mud (IF it slid off the taxiway/runway) they would have to wait until the threat of lightning ended.
Again, just a guess, since I have no idea why the aircraft was in the way.
Sounds like a good working theory.
Lightning in the area? No one on the ground will want to go near the plane until the risk of lightning subsides. I’ve been waiting at the gate but no one will connect the ground cable, and hence no jetway to deplane, until lightning leaves the area. If we can build planes to fly half way around the world, you would think we could figure out how to safely ground the airframe in a storm! Maybe tires should be made of metal instead of rubber! 