Jeep appears before moving aircraft on IGIA

An accident was averted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday after a jeep came in the way of a taxiing aircraft.

An accident was averted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday after a jeep came in the way of a taxiing aircraft.

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The incident took place on January 21 at 6pm when a Guwahati-Delhi flight of a domestic budget carrier was taxiing towards its allotted parking bay after landing on Runway 27 of the airport.

“The vehicle, which belonged to the airport operator, crossed the path of the aircraft. It is a safety breach and we are investigating how the jeep reached that point, as no vehicle or persons are allowed on a taxiway while an aircraft is using it,” said a senior official of the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“The matter has been referred to the DGCA and is currently under investigation,” said a spokesman of the private airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd.

The airport witnessed a slew of accidents on the tarmac last year. Recently, a SpiceJet aircraft departing for Pune hit an electric pole on the runway before taking off. Passengers had a close shave even as the aircraft’s right wing got badly damaged.

In September last year, an aircraft with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother and UP Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav and five others on board plane skidded off the runway after landing.