Ground equipment slams into 3 Air India planes at Delhi airport; DGCA to probe incident (Screen grabs: X)

Video: Frantic chase as ground equipment hits 3 planes at Delhi airport amid storm

While Air India has not officially issued a statement on the incident, an airline source said along with three Air India planes, aircraft belonging to other operators were also affected by the hostile weather conditions.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Ground support equipment hit aircraft after moving in bad weather
  • All three planes taken out of operation after collision
  • Two planes to resume operations soon, third needs more time

As many as three Air India narrowbody aircraft parked at Terminal 2 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport were damaged on Sunday after ground support equipment was blown into them during strong winds and rain, the airport operator said.

A video of the incident has been going viral on social media, showing ground support equipment moving across the apron amid gusty conditions while airport staff can be seen running behind it in an apparent attempt to stop it. All three aircraft were taken out of operation following the collision, according to the airport operator.

The operator said ground equipment belonging to Air India Engineering and IndiGo was displaced due to the sudden inclement weather and struck the parked aircraft at Terminal 2. It also claimed that Air Traffic Control (ATC) had not issued any warning to the airport operator or airlines regarding the sudden change in weather conditions.

Video: Ground staff chase equipment before it hits 3 aircraft at Delhi airport

While Air India has not officially issued a statement on the incident, an airline source said aircraft belonging to other operators were also affected by the hostile weather conditions.

Of the three impacted Air India aircraft, two are expected to return to service soon, while the third will take longer to be repaired, the source said.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will investigate the incident and determine responsibility for the collision, sources told India Today.

The aviation regulator is expected to examine the circumstances under which the ground equipment broke loose and struck the parked aircraft during the sudden spell of strong winds and rain.

- Ends
Inputs from Amit Bhardwaj