I was standing at the D03 platform at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. An Aer Lingus Airbus A321 was taxiing on the platform. I was standing at the end of the centerline of the platform, next to the Ground Power Unit. An amazing feeling of adrenaline rushed through my body. This was such a great experience. A couple of meters in front of me, the aircraft stopped. After the anti-collision lights were switched off, the crew went to the aircraft to start handling the baggage, fuel and all the other necessary proceedings.

Today I worked on the platform. Together with a chief, and a couple of other colleagues, we handled some Transavia flights. They learned me what’s needed to handle a plane properly.

During the last flight of today, a Transavia flight to Heraklion, we walked around the aircraft so the chief could explain me some procedures. One of the other colleagues discovered a bird, which was stuck between the wing and one of the flaps. Because we didn’t trust this situation, we got some equipment and took a better look. There was serious damage on the wing, so we decided to warn the pilot.

The pilot cancelled the flight. A piece of the wing was broken. Birds can be like bullets when you’re flying 800 kilometres an hour. This whole situation prove to me that bird strikes can be really dangerous.

This all happened about 5 minutes before the flight was going to depart. The pushback truck was ready and even the jetway was disconnected of the airplane. Imagine what would have happened if we didn’t notice this damage. I’ve learned a lot about the aircraft handling process and this was without any doubt the best day of my internship until now!