New Delhi: India’s aviation regulator has opened an investigation after an Air India aircraft suffered engine damage when a cargo container was sucked into it during taxiing at Delhi airport early Wednesday. The incident unfolded in low-visibility conditions and has raised serious questions around ground handling safety and airport operations.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun examining the sequence of events that led to the damage, even though all passengers and crew remained safe. The aircraft involved an Airbus 350 operating as Flight AI101 Delhi to New York, has been grounded for inspection and repairs.
The incident occurred after the flight had already completed a safe landing. The aircraft had returned to Delhi following an air turnback caused by the closure of Iranian airspace. Once on the ground, it was taxiing toward the parking bay amid dense fog when the engine damage took place.
View this post on Instagram
What happened on the taxiway
According to Air India, the right engine of the aircraft encountered a foreign object while taxiing, leading to visible damage. The airline said the aircraft was immediately moved to a designated parking position to ensure safety and engineers were called in for a detailed assessment.
The initial findings from the DGCA suggest that the foreign object was a cargo container that had fallen on the taxiway junction, close to Bay 242.
How container ended up there
As per the sources familiar with the investigation said the area had been earmarked for parking ground support equipment for another airline. A ground handling agency was moving several container dollies when one of the dolly wheels came off. This caused a container to topple onto the taxiway.
As the Air India aircraft approached, the equipment operator reportedly cleared the area with the remaining dollies but left the fallen container behind. Moments later, the container was ingested into the aircraft’s right engine.
After the incident, debris was cleared from the taxiway and the aircraft was eventually parked at a nearby stand. The DGCA has tasked the Deputy Air Safety Officer of the Northern Region with a detailed probe.