Plane rams into Amritsar airport aero-bridge

Amritsar: All 166 passengers and crew members of a Turkmenistan Airways flight (T-555) had a miraculous escape when the plane rammed into an aero-bridge of the under-construction building of the airport shortly before takeoff at Raja Sansi International Airport here today, damaging the right wing of the aircraft.
Utter chaos prevailed at the airport soon after the incident. The plane which was bound for Ashgabat-Birmingham had 160 passengers and six crew members on board.
Official sources said the right wing of the aircraft hit the aero-bridge while the plane was taking a turn on the runway. Preliminary inquires revealed that the ground staff did not move the aero-bridge to a safe distance after the plane was cleared for takeoff by the air control tower. Another plane of Air-India was standing on the side when the Turkmenistan flight rammed into the aero-bridge.
The passengers and crew members were taken to the “security hold” area of the airport. The damaged right wing of the air carrier is being repaired by ground engineers.
Airport director Arun Talwar said a probe had been ordered to fix the responsibility of the mishap.
10/09/07 The Tribune

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Categories: Airports Sep 2007, Foreign Sep 2007, Safety Sep 2007