ID :
95581
Fri, 12/18/2009 - 11:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/95581
The shortlink copeid
Aircraft damaged, PM changes plane for Copenhagen
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) In a bizarre incident, Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special aircraft scheduled to
carry him to Copenhagen was on Thursday hit by a hydraulic
trolley loaded with food, forcing him to opt for another
aircraft and delaying his departure by three hours.
The mishap occurred at the VVIP area of Delhi airport
around 12.30 PM IST when the trolley hit the cargo door of Air
India's 747-400 damaging it while the loading operations were
in progress.
The security and other officials held an emergency
meeting at the airport and decided to use an alternate
aircraft for the Prime Minister's travel which resulted in a
three-hour delay. The plane took off at 5.45 PM IST.
An embarrassed Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful
Patel rushed to the airport and ordered a high-level inquiry.
"Let the inquiry report come. Then we will know whether there
was anything mala fide in this," he said.
Patel said both the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation and Air India would conduct an inquiry.
The Minister, who saw off the Prime Minister, said
preliminary inquiry has found that the hydraulic lift carrying
food items hit the cargo door of the Air India Boeing 747-400.
He said the driver of the loader vehicle has been
suspended. He has good experience of having done work relating
to several VVIP aircraft, Patel said, adding "After all we are
all human".
An official spokesperson of the ministry said a "minor
damage" was caused by the loader vehicle to the cargo door of
the aircraft.
As a measure of abundant precaution, the standby
aircraft has been deployed for the Prime Minister's journey,
the spokesperson said.
This is the second incident involving a VIP aircraft
in the country in just over a week.
Indian President Pratibha Patil had a narrow escape on
December 9 when the rotor blades of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter in
which she was on board hit a shed after landing at the Biju
Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar in eastern India.
The accident occurred when the helicopter bringing
Patil back from Puri was taxiing to the parking bay after
landing.
The chopper's three rotor blades got twisted after it
hit an asbestos shed whose roof was ripped off. PTI SKU
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special aircraft scheduled to
carry him to Copenhagen was on Thursday hit by a hydraulic
trolley loaded with food, forcing him to opt for another
aircraft and delaying his departure by three hours.
The mishap occurred at the VVIP area of Delhi airport
around 12.30 PM IST when the trolley hit the cargo door of Air
India's 747-400 damaging it while the loading operations were
in progress.
The security and other officials held an emergency
meeting at the airport and decided to use an alternate
aircraft for the Prime Minister's travel which resulted in a
three-hour delay. The plane took off at 5.45 PM IST.
An embarrassed Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful
Patel rushed to the airport and ordered a high-level inquiry.
"Let the inquiry report come. Then we will know whether there
was anything mala fide in this," he said.
Patel said both the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation and Air India would conduct an inquiry.
The Minister, who saw off the Prime Minister, said
preliminary inquiry has found that the hydraulic lift carrying
food items hit the cargo door of the Air India Boeing 747-400.
He said the driver of the loader vehicle has been
suspended. He has good experience of having done work relating
to several VVIP aircraft, Patel said, adding "After all we are
all human".
An official spokesperson of the ministry said a "minor
damage" was caused by the loader vehicle to the cargo door of
the aircraft.
As a measure of abundant precaution, the standby
aircraft has been deployed for the Prime Minister's journey,
the spokesperson said.
This is the second incident involving a VIP aircraft
in the country in just over a week.
Indian President Pratibha Patil had a narrow escape on
December 9 when the rotor blades of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter in
which she was on board hit a shed after landing at the Biju
Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar in eastern India.
The accident occurred when the helicopter bringing
Patil back from Puri was taxiing to the parking bay after
landing.
The chopper's three rotor blades got twisted after it
hit an asbestos shed whose roof was ripped off. PTI SKU
