Probe into AI staff death points to lapses

Technician Ravi Subramanian died after being sucked into an engine of a Hyderabad-bound Airbus A319 aircraft

A preliminary investigation into the death of an Air India technician at the Mumbai airport shows standard operating procedures might not have been followed.

Air India technician Ravi Subramanian had died on Wednesday after being sucked into the engine of a Hyderabad-bound Airbus A319. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is I investigating the incident. The bureau was set up in 2012 to investigate accidents and functions under the aviation ministry. The bureau will examine whether the pilots concerned began taxing the aircraft without receiving clearance from Subramanian.

An email by an engineer of a private airline on the incident, which was widely circulated among airline pilots and engineers, also claimed that proper procedures were not being followed. The engineer wrote this mail to his colleagues based on information gathered from the deceased technician’s colleagues.

Pilots and ground staff need to follow certain procedures when an aircraft is being pushed back from the parking bay.

After an aircraft is pushed back to the taxiway, technicians or engineers remove tow bar of the tractor (used for pushing the aircraft) and a pin attached to the  aircraft nosewheel. Once that is removed, the ground staff gives the signal to the pilots to  commence taxiing.

Pilots are required to obtain prior permission from air traffic controllers before taxing but can begin taxing only after getting a go ahead from the ground staff.

Air India  chairperson Ashwani Lohani, who rushed to Mumbai on Thursday morning for an on-the-spot inquiry, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a job in the airline to a family member of the deceased.

“We have lost a family member. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh has been given to the family. We have also offered a job to the family of the victim,” Lohani told reporters in Mumbai.

Though he refused to go into the details of what could have possibly caused the accident, Lohani said, “initially it seems that there was some communication gap.” He, however, did not elaborate.