Plane door breaks, flyers safe

Mumbai: On Tuesday the 172 passengers of Air India's flight IC 179 from Mumbai to Mangalore were all on board and the plane was getting ready to taxi to the runway for its scheduled 11 am take-off. However, the tow-tractor tried to tow the plane away from the parking bay while the plane's left front-door was still open and the aerobridge still connected. The door rammed into the aerobridge, damaging it and getting ripped off itself. The passengers were made to disembark through another door. They boarded another aircraft that took off an-hour-and-a-half later.
No one was injured, but two pilots, an aircraft maintenance engineer and a technician have been taken off the roster by Air India pending investigations. A probe has been ordered by the Director General of Civil Aviation. The tow-tractor driver has been suspended. Losses to the airline are expected to run into lakhs due to the aircraft's non-availability.
The mishap took place at around 10.45 am while the Airbus 321 was parked in the nose-in bay A11. Sources said that a minute after the commander ordered the cabin crew to close all doors, a shrill noise was heard. "None of the passengers knew what had happened,'' the source added. In a moment, the door came off and got lodged in the aerobridge.
A senior commander said, "As per procedure, the commander should see if the instrument panel indicates that all doors are closed. A cabin crew member also informs him verbally that the doors are closed.'' The commander can also see if the aerobridge is withdrawn through the left cockpit window. The commander then indicates to the engineer on the ground that he's ready for the plane to be pushed back. The engineer is also expected to visually confirm if the aerobridge is withdrawn.
"Many pilots like to shade the cockpit windows with newspapers to avoid the cockpit getting heated up before take-off. On this day too, the windows were covered,'' said a source.
06/05/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Air India Domestic May 2009, Airports May 2009, NACIL May 2009, Safety May 2009