Plane grazes step ladder at IGI airport

NEW DELHI: After two days of fog, an Indian Airlines Bhopal-Delhi flight with over 100 passengers had a narrow escape at the Indira Gandhi International airport when the aircraft came close to a step ladder after landing.

The left wing of the aircraft touched the ladder around 10 am. No one was injured and the aircraft’s wing was slightly damaged. But the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched a probe into the “serious” incident. “Ideally, the pilot should have missed the ladder since he is aware of the wing span,” said a DGCA official on condition of anonymity.  The DIAL, which manages IGI, and the airline too are investigating the incident.

Later in the day, over 120 passengers Kathmandu-bound passengers boarded their JetLite flight at 10 am, after a 9-hour delay. For a change, the delay was not caused by fog in Delhi but absence of night-landing facility in Kathmandu.