CHENNAI: A step-ladder that was to be fixed to the door of an aircraft, rammed into it, when the vehicle guiding it missed the target, here on Monday. The Boeing 737 aircraft, with over 100 passengers on board, was later grounded by the DGCA.
Airport sources said a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai, that landed at the airport here at 11.30 am, was preparing to alight passengers when the step ladder, that was to be aligned with its exit, rammed into the aircraft instead, causing heavy damage to the plane.
Jet Airways officials however, did not inform the Airports Authority of India about the incident. “They were parked on bay 29 and asked for clearance to be parked in bay 34 without informing us of any reasons,” an AAI source revealed.
Eventually, the DGCA got a whiff of the incident and alerted AAI.
The plane was then grounded until further investigations were carried out.An official said, “It is a violation of rules, as the airline is supposed to keep the authorities informed of such incidents. There could have been a fire.”
Jet Airways officials remained unreachable.