Nov. 11 (UPI) — A mobile lounge, transporting passengers at Washington Dulles International Airport, crashed into a dock Monday, injuring 18 people inside.
The mobile lounge, also called a “people mover,” was carrying passengers to Concourse D, when it struck the dock as it was pulling up to the terminal around 4:30 p.m. EST, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The MWAA oversees Dulles Airport in Virginia and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where millions of passengers arrive every year to the Washington, D.C., area.
All of the passengers on the mobile lounge were able to get out using the stairs, according to the MWAA. A total of 18 people were taken to a local hospital for their injuries, which were described as non-life threatening.
Dulles International has 19 mobile lounges, which transport passengers between the airport’s main terminal and concourses to their aircraft. The vehicle, which is 54-feet long by 16-feet wide, can carry 102 passengers with 71 of them seated, according to the airport, which started using them in 1959.
Investigators are looking into Monday’s incident and have not said how the crash occurred, or if there was significant damage to the vehicle or the airport building.
Dulles remained open Monday and continued to operate as normal.