Akasa‑SpiceJet tarmac contact
On April 16 at Delhi’s IGI Airport an Akasa Air aircraft and a SpiceJet plane came into contact on the tarmac and both suffered damage, and regulators have opened an investigation. (siasat.com) (livemint.com)
Two Boeing 737 passenger jets touched on the ground at Delhi airport on April 16, damaging both aircraft and triggering a federal safety probe. (civilaviation.gov.in) The incident happened around 2:15 p.m. at Terminal 1 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, involving SpiceJet flight SG-124 from Leh and Akasa Air flight QP-1406 to Hyderabad. (rediff.com) Indian regulators said the SpiceJet Boeing 737-700, registered VT-SLB, was taxiing toward Bay 106 when its right winglet struck the horizontal tail surface of the Akasa Boeing 737 after pushback. (newindianexpress.com) A winglet is the upturned tip at the end of a wing, and the horizontal tail surface is the small wing at the back that helps keep an aircraft level. Those are the two parts officials said were damaged. (newindianexpress.com) The Ministry of Civil Aviation said Akasa’s aircraft had been pushed back from Bay 104 and was positioned for engine start, while the SpiceJet jet was holding near Bay 108 before receiving clearance to taxi. (rediff.com) The ministry said the SpiceJet crew had confirmed separation from the Akasa aircraft, but the jet then made a turn “without wing walker clearance,” and contact followed. Wing walkers are ground staff who watch the wingtips during tight turns and signal whether the aircraft has enough space. (rediff.com) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has taken the air traffic controller involved and the SpiceJet pilots off the roster while it investigates. Both aircraft were grounded after the contact. (rediff.com) Akasa said its aircraft was stationary when the other plane made contact and that passengers and crew were safely disembarked. SpiceJet said its aircraft was involved in a “ground occurrence” while taxiing and remained grounded in Delhi. (newindianexpress.com) No injuries were reported among the nearly 300 passengers across the two flights, according to airport-source reporting cited by The New Indian Express. The next step is the regulator’s finding on whether the failure was in cockpit judgment, ground guidance, air traffic control, or some combination of the three. (newindianexpress.com)
