Aerobridge accident: AI technician faces action

Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the airline took the action on its own. Usually, the safety regulator directs airlines not to assign duty to staff currently facing probes.

A day after 300-odd Air India passengers inside a Boeing aircraft felt the plane bang its engine on an aerobridge in Mumbai, the airline temporarily suspended the airfield technician assisting the cockpit crew.

An Air India flight hit an aerobridge in Mumbai on Friday. (HT Photo)

Read: Air India flight hits aerobridge at Mumbai airport

Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the airline took the action on its own. Usually, the safety regulator directs airlines not to assign duty to staff currently facing probes.

On Friday, the AI spokesperson blamed the Visual Docking Guidance System — an electronically controlled procedure to help pilots park — for the bump. However, the airport spokesperson said the aircraft was marshalled manually and the glitch-hit VDGS had been switched off.

The regulator is likely to review the training standards of ground staffers who perform small but crucial safety jobs. Thousands of workers performing odd-jobs - such guiding planes on the ground - face limited vigil.

“We will check if the staff is properly trained,” said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity. Pilots, cabin crew and aircraft maintenance engineers are primarily under the probe’s radar.