Air India One not spared, mishap delays PM’s Copenhagen flight

New Delhi: Even as hurdles remained big as ever in the way of an international climate treaty in Copenhagen, PM Manmohan Singh had his own share of obstacles on way to the Danish capital. His flight to Copenhagen on Thursday was delayed by over two-and-a-half hours after a doorframe of Air India-1 was damaged by a high lift loader while storing cargo into the special aircraft.
As a result of the embarrassing mishap, the PM had to wait for a change of aircraft — Boeing 747-400 ‘Khajuraho’ was brought in to replace ‘Agra’ — before taking off for the summit. An enquiry has been initiated by both the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airline into the incident.
According to sources, the incident occurred while food and cargo was being loaded into the aircraft in the Air Force technical area. Around 1pm, one of the hydraulic high lift loaders that lifts cargo containers on a platform to the level of the cargo hold, hit the door. This resulted in a crack in the doorframe. Efforts were made to repair the damage but the aircraft was deemed not not fit to fly. Sources said the operator of the lift, G S Shejwal, an Air India employee, claimed that he had accidentally touched the lever which raises the platform on which the containers are kept.
18/12/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Dec 2009, NACIL Dec 2009, Safety Dec 2009