Go First driver falls asleep on the wheel, stops car under the aircraft: Official

Go First declined to comment on the incident involving a commercial vehicle used by the airline at Delhi’s international Indira Gandhi International (IGI) terminal 2

A Go First ground vehicle came dangerously close to an IndiGo plane at the Delhi airport, stopping just inches away from the aircraft that was preparing to fly to Patna, officials said. Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun a probe.

The car, which was used as a ground vehicle by low-budget airline Go First, stopped right under the nose of the IndiGo plane that was preparing for a 6.30am flight to Patna

No damage to the aircraft was reported.

The incident took place at around 6am on Tuesday when the vehicle came close to the aircraft and stopped only when it was under the nose of the aircraft.

“The driver fell asleep on wheels that led to the incident,” confirmed an airport official.

Go First refused to comment on the incident.

A DGCA official said that the Indigo aircraft A320Neo, registered as VT-ITJ, was parked at stand number 201 of terminal-2 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) and was to operate as 6E-2022 when the incident took place.

“A Go First ground Maruti Swift Dzire vehicle came close to this aircraft and stopped under the nose area of the aircraft. There was no damage to the aircraft or injury to any person,” the DGCA official said.

The driver was subjected to a Breath Analyser (BA) test for consumption of alcohol and was found to be negative,” the official said, adding that the aircraft departed as per the scheduled departure time.

“If the BA test is negative, there are two possible reasons for such an accident to take place’ either the driver is overworked or performing two consecutive shifts or is stressed due to personal or professional reasons,” a former DGCA official told HT.

To be sure, this is not the first such incident.

In 2015, a Jet Airways bus driver fell asleep at the wheel shortly before he crashed into an Air India plane parked at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. The driver was transporting two Jet Airways crew members to their plane when the accident happened. No one was injured in this incident but the aircraft’s wing, engine and landing gear suffered extensive damage.