Video shows a fuel truck ripping hoses from a parked 747-8 before jet fuel spills across the JFK apron.
An Air China Boeing 747-8 has been left stranded at New York JFK Airport (JFK) after it was damaged by a fuel truck during refueling. The truck reportedly pulled away from the aircraft while fuel hoses were still connected, damaging the wing refueling ports and sending jet fuel pouring onto the apron.
The aircraft involved was an 11-year-old Boeing 747-8 (registration: B-2486), which was parked at a gate ahead of Flight CA982 to Beijing Capital Airport (PEK). No one was injured in the accident, and the damage done to the aircraft is being reported as minor. The accident led to the flight being canceled, while the 747 remains grounded in New York.
The incident happened in the early hours of Monday, August 31, ahead of the jumbo jet's scheduled 2:05 AM departure to Beijing. As the aircraft was being refueled, the fuel truck moved away while two fuel hoses were still attached, damaging the 747's fuel ports and spilling jet fuel onto the ground. Video footage of the incident shows the fuel truck suddenly lurch forward before the driver exits the truck as fuel pours out of the wing.
Photographs posted to Chinese social media platform Weibo show ground staff inspecting the refueling ports and cleaning up fuel beneath the aircraft. All passengers' baggage was subsequently removed from the aircraft and the flight was canceled. Simple Flying reached out to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Air China for comment, but did not receive a reply before publication.
Flight tracking data shows that B-2486 remains on the ground at New York JFK, and also confirms that CA982 was canceled on August 31, with the next Beijing-bound service leaving JFK the following night at 2:58 AM. Passengers were reportedly only told of the cancellation hours after the scheduled departure time, with Air China attributing the cancellation to "fuel guarantee."
The stricken Boeing 747-8 had landed at JFK on August 30 at around 9:45 PM local time ahead of a planned turnaround at 2:05 AM the next morning. While the Aviation Safety Network has classified the aircraft's damage as minor, it is unclear how much time the 747 faces on the ground before it can return to service. Air China will face an operational headache the longer it remains grounded, as the airline has only a handful of 747-8s available for passenger services.
New York JFK is one of Air China's last-remaining US-bound Boeing 747 routes, operating five times per week at JFK's Terminal 1. The 365-seater double-decker features four cabins, with first class, business, premium economy and economy. The carrier also uses its 747s to fly to Washington (IAD), while its other two US destinations — Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) — are served by its Boeing 777-300ER jets.
As of September 2026, Air China is joined by Lufthansa, Korean Air and Rossiya as the last-remaining carriers to operate the 747 as a passenger aircraft. The Chinese flag carrier notably flies both the 747-400 and 747-8, and was one of only a handful of airlines to order the latter variant.
B-2486 is one of seven 747-8 aircraft delivered to Air China, two of which were built specially for government and VIP operations. This leaves the airline with five 747-8s as passenger aircraft, all delivered between 2014 and 2015. Away from the US, the carrier deploys the type on its busy Beijing–Frankfurt route, as well as on high-density domestic routes to Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Boeing built just 48 passenger-configured 747-8s before shutting down the 747 program for good in January 2023, when the final freighter was delivered to Atlas Air. Air China also has two 747-400s left in its fleet, which are primarily used on domestic routes — these jets offer seating for up to 344 passengers across three cabin classes.
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