Narrative:

Passenger was boarding the jet in his wheelchair. While attempting to stand up from his wheelchair; he placed his came down on the deck to support himself. His cane slipped into the 1-2 inch gap between the jet and the jetway. His cane fell through the gap to the pavement below the jet. He collapsed and fell toward the deck as a flight attendant broke his fall. Her quick response most certainly prevented the passenger from sustaining a serious injury. As a result of her actions; the flight attendant injured her right hand. She used her body to cushion the passenger's fall to the deck. When I examined her right hand; her palm below the thumb was swollen. I advised her to ice her injury; and she said she would be ok to continue. I also checked with the passenger before and after the flight; and he said he was ok. The gap between the jetway and the jet looked too big to me. I asked the agent about the gap. The agent advised me that agents are trained to maintain a gap between the jetway and the jet to prevent the jetway from damaging the skin of the jet. I suggest we review this procedure so that a similar incident does not happen again. If there is a gap between the jetway and the jet; a small child's foot can drop into the gap; a cane can drop into the gap; and woman's high heel can drop into the gap; etc. I recommend that there be no gap between the jetway and jet. I believe that the rubber fender on the jetway is meant to touch the skin of the jet without causing damage. Thanks for looking into this issue.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: As a boarding passenger attempted to utilize his cane to rise from his wheel chair at the aircraft door his cane slipped between the jetway and the jet; causing him to fall and injuring a Cabin Attendant who attempted to break his fall.

Narrative: Passenger was boarding the jet in his wheelchair. While attempting to stand up from his wheelchair; he placed his came down on the deck to support himself. His cane slipped into the 1-2 inch gap between the jet and the jetway. His cane fell through the gap to the pavement below the jet. He collapsed and fell toward the deck as a Flight Attendant broke his fall. Her quick response most certainly prevented the passenger from sustaining a serious injury. As a result of her actions; the Flight Attendant injured her right hand. She used her body to cushion the passenger's fall to the deck. When I examined her right hand; her palm below the thumb was swollen. I advised her to ice her injury; and she said she would be OK to continue. I also checked with the passenger before and after the flight; and he said he was OK. The gap between the jetway and the jet looked too big to me. I asked the Agent about the gap. The Agent advised me that agents are trained to maintain a gap between the jetway and the jet to prevent the jetway from damaging the skin of the jet. I suggest we review this procedure so that a similar incident does not happen again. If there is a gap between the jetway and the jet; a small child's foot can drop into the gap; a cane can drop into the gap; and woman's high heel can drop into the gap; etc. I recommend that there be no gap between the jetway and jet. I believe that the rubber fender on the jetway is meant to touch the skin of the jet without causing damage. Thanks for looking into this issue.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.