Airport finds Mulford parking plan taxing

Mumbai: American Ambassador to India David C Mulford and his wife Jeannie Mulford gave a scare to the air traffic controllers at the Mumbai airport for about a good half an hour. Not to mention the commotion that followed. It so happened that on Tuesday, the Ambassador and his wife had flown into the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in their Beechcraft from Chennai and landed at the airport in the evening.
After landing, the aircraft instead of exiting from the taxiway after a vacation clearance, parked itself on to the Delta taxiway between terminals IA and IB. "The aircraft despite repeated warnings from the ATC for clearing the taxiway did not move," said an ATC source at the airport. Amidst all this confusion, the “doors of the aircraft opened and the Ambassador with his wife walked out and were virtually standing amidst the operational area,” said a well-placed source at the airport, causing quite a flutter.
“The pilot, despite repeated requests did not move the aircraft,” added the source. It was only after the security chief was called and a 'follow me' jeep guided the pilot to the parking bay, that the aircraft was cleared from the taxiway.
Unconfirmed reports say that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will conduct an enquiry into the matter.
11/04/07 Manisha Singhal/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Apr 2007, Foreign Apr 2007, Safety Apr 2007