Vizianagaram: In a major security lapse, a dummy stun grenade was found on board an Air India flight (AI 965) as it touched down at Jeddah early Saturday. Though the airline sought to downplay the incident claiming the ‘object was a plastic wrapper’, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju confirmed it was indeed a dummy stun grenade and indicated the flight was on standby for the Prime Minister during his recent visit to the US.
A joint team of the airline and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security rushed to Mumbai to investigate. It is learnt that Air India has suspended two of its officials, one in Hyderabad and the other in Mumbai. However, when contacted, AI officials in Hyderabad said they hadn’t yet received any suspension order.
According to Raju, the dummy grenade was found on the upper deck business class of AI-965 which was operating on the Mumbai-Hyderabad-Jeddah route. “There was no threat to passengers. The grenade may have remained after the mock drill .... It has BSF markings,” he told reporters. The drill he was referring to was carried out by the NSG between Sept 24-27 at select airports and aircraft across the country to check the alertness of the crew and others concerned. “It is unacceptable. It is a failure that it was not spotted. We are going to investigate and even the authorities at Jeddah airport are conducting a parallel investigation,” Raju said.
05/10/14 New Indian Express
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
A joint team of the airline and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security rushed to Mumbai to investigate. It is learnt that Air India has suspended two of its officials, one in Hyderabad and the other in Mumbai. However, when contacted, AI officials in Hyderabad said they hadn’t yet received any suspension order.
According to Raju, the dummy grenade was found on the upper deck business class of AI-965 which was operating on the Mumbai-Hyderabad-Jeddah route. “There was no threat to passengers. The grenade may have remained after the mock drill .... It has BSF markings,” he told reporters. The drill he was referring to was carried out by the NSG between Sept 24-27 at select airports and aircraft across the country to check the alertness of the crew and others concerned. “It is unacceptable. It is a failure that it was not spotted. We are going to investigate and even the authorities at Jeddah airport are conducting a parallel investigation,” Raju said.
05/10/14 New Indian Express
