NEW DELHI: In a dangerous and freak incident at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Thursday morning, the engine of an Air India flight allegedly sucked in a cargo container while it was taxiing, damaging it. All the more than 300 passengers on board the Airbus A350-900 are safe.
The Delhi–New York flight had already been doubly jinxed, as it was forced to return to IGIA midair after Iran declared the closure of its airspace. The aircraft is now grounded and rectification work is under way.
The flight took off from Terminal 3 at 3.13 am and returned to Delhi at 5.47 am. The incident occurred around the time it landed.
According to sources at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, “The aircraft landed safely at Runway 28. During taxiing to apron at Taxiway junction (N/N4), Engine No. 2 ingested a cargo container causing damage to the engine.”
The ground handling company, Bird Worldwide Flight Services, was transporting a tug with a few containers to the area near bay 242, which was allotted for parking Ground Services Equipment for Air Mauritius.
“While transporting, one of the wheels of the container dolly came off and the container toppled onto the taxiway. The equipment operator noticed the Air India aircraft taxiing in and hurriedly vacated the spot with the remaining dollies and containers. However, the container which fell was left behind and it got ingested into the engine,” a source said.
After clearing the metal pieces, the aircraft has been parked at stand 244.
Air India chose to downplay the incident, saying the plane hit a foreign object in foggy conditions. A video shot by a passenger partially captured the incident.
In a statement, the airline said, “Air India confirms that Flight AI101, operating from Delhi to New York (JFK), was forced to return to Delhi shortly after takeoff due to the unexpected closure of Iranian airspace, which impacted its planned route. Upon landing in Delhi, the aircraft encountered a foreign object while taxiing in dense fog, resulting in damage to the right engine.”
“The aircraft was safely positioned to the designated parking stand, ensuring the safety of all passengers and crew on board,” it added.
“The aircraft is currently grounded for a thorough investigation and necessary repairs, which may cause potential disruptions on select A350 routes,” it said.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, aviation expert, told this reporter that the suction area of an Airbus A350, similar to the Boeing 777s and 787s, is very powerful.
“The groundhandler could be at fault here. There are yellow lines clearly marked beyond which the trolley or containers cannot be taken, as it would come close to the aircraft. This is because the pilot cannot view the engines from his position,” he said.
Such incidents have happened at airports abroad and at Mumbai airport too.