Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an investigation after three Air India narrowbody aircraft sustained significant structural damage during a violent thunderstorm at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. It caused minor to significant damage to the aircraft – all three Airbus A320s – foring the aircraft to be grounded.
Incident Details & Cause
The incident occurred on Sunday evening when severe gales swept across the airfield, unmooring heavy ground handling equipment. A high-reach passenger boarding ladder, operated by a third-party ground handling agency, was caught in the high-velocity winds and broke free, colliding sequentially with three parked Air India jets at Terminal-2.
The runaway equipment impacted three aircraft from Air India’s single-aisle fleet, which were parked at adjacent remote bays awaiting their next scheduled departures. Preliminary assessments indicate that the ladder struck the fuselages and engine cowlings of the aircraft, causing deep skin punctures and structural tears.
DGCA Probe Focus Areas
The DGCA has viewed the incident with gravity and has initiated a formal probe into the incident. While all three aircraft have been grounded for inspection and maintenance, DGCA's inspection will focus on assessing whether the ground handling agency adhered to standard operating protocols regrding the handling of the equipment during severe weather, timeline of weather warnings and the proximity hazards at the airport.
The sudden grounding of three narrowbody jets places immediate pressure on Air India’s domestic and regional network while it is struggling with rising operational cost. Aviation experts believe that while such severe storms are not uncommon in Northern India, a single piece of rogue equipment damaging multiple commercial aircraft represents a significant operational oversight.
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