Airplane stranded on TPE

An Airplane mounted on a trailer was stranded on the Tampines Expressway (TPE) for more than an hour early morning on 13 Oct, unable to pass under an overhead pedestrian bridge.

The Boeing 737-300, with its wings and nose removed, was being moved from Seletar Airport to the airport emergency services training ground of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in Upper Changi Road, where it will be used for rescue and fire fighting training.

The trailer, bearing its gigantic cargo, was trundling down the extreme left lane of the expressway at about 1am when it came to the bridge. It had to slow down and stop.

Finally, some air was let out of trailer's tyres to lower its height. The trailer then passed under the bridge, but on the extreme right lane, where the bridge is slightly higher off the ground than at other sections. All three lanes of the affected section of the TPE had to be closed during this manoeuvre, which stranded about 15 cars.

A CAAS spokesman said hiccups are anticipated along the way when planes are being transported, but could not say whether the problem for this particular trip had been anticipated. She added that no damage was caused to the overhead pedestrian bridge, the trailer or the aircraft.

The laden trailer was accompanied by a convoy of motorbike-mounted security officers, in line with regulations which require vehicles taller than 4.5m to be escorted by police en route. The driver of a vehicle which collides into a building or structure can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed up to two years.