'It's gonna hit!'

WATCH: Strong winds send airport stairs crashing into plane

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Daniel Martins

Digital Reporter

Friday, November 13, 2015, 11:44 AM - Those movable stairs airports use to let passengers board airplanes on the tarmac aren't exactly feather-light, so imagine the kind of winds you'd need to get them rolling on their own at full tilt.

In fact, those winds may have come from a system that generated a tornado at the Des Moines International Airport in Iowa on Wednesday, November 11.

The incident was caught on camera and uploaded to Twitter by a waiting passenger, who said she saw rotating clouds above the airport.

We do admire the zeal with which that airport worker sprints to try and intercept the stairs, but although the plane's wing took a direct hit, it's probably for the best that he didn't succeed in catching it. Given how heavy it was, its momentum would likely have been too much for him, and he may have injured himself.

The tornado recorded at the airport was part of a system that brought several severe thunderstorms to Iowa. And, six hours later, the airport actually reported some snow at the same location.

The Washington Post reports at least eight tornadoes may have touched down in Iowa that day, one of which damaged a grain bin and tossed a tractor-trailer.

SOURCES: Twitter/@jakenattie | Washington Post

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