Mumbai: Strong winds accompanying heavy rain caused a SpiceJet step-ladder to crash into the right wing of anIndiGo A320 aircraft parked at Mumbai's Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Saturday morning. A source at the airport said the collision caused some damage to the stationary aircraft’s engine's cowling and winglet. A SpiceJet spokesperson said that the step ladder was parked on stand C87, where another stationary aircraft VT-SLA was parked at the Mumbai airport.
On the adjacent stand C86, was an IndiGo aircraft VT-IHN, which too was not in service. "Around 7.30 am on Saturday, sudden strong winds pickedup.Therewasnoprior weather warning or advisory and a SpiceJet step ladder, which was well secured and with chocks in place, was moved backwards andhitthe IndiGo aircraft on the right wing," saidthe spokesperson.
The weather guard roof of SpiceJet's step ladder was sliced in when it hit the leading edge of the stationary IndiGo Airline's A320 wing. Meanwhile, a Mumbai airport source said, unpredictable cyclonic storms engulfing the country have posed a huge challenge for unattended aircraft parked across airports. When contacted, an IndiGo airlines spokesperson said SpiceJet's step ladder got detached from its parked position and hit its parked aircraft.
The incident is being probed by authorities. Mumbai saw torrential rains and strong winds around 6.30am on Saturday, while the aviation weather report for that hour showed a strong westerly wind whipping at 53 kmph, with gusts going up to 72 kmph.
