IndiGo aircraft hit by step ladder at Mumbai airport due to strong winds

An IndiGo aircraft parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai was hit by a step ladder of rival carrier SpiceJet amid strong winds, an official said.

The wing and engine cowling of the aircraft suffered some damage in the incident, a spokesperson of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a statement.

Due to partial operations, a sizeable number of aircraft are grounded at airports across the country.

IndiGo said SpiceJet's step ladder got detached from its parked position and hit its parked aircraft. The incident, which took place Saturday morning, is being probed by the authorities.

"Unpredictable cyclonic storms engulfing India have posed a huge challenge for unattended aircraft parked across airports. Due to strong winds, VT-IHN of IndiGo was hit by a ladder of SpiceJet at Mumbai, (causing) some damage to wings and engine cowling," the MIAL spokesperson said.

"This incident occurred at Mumbai airport early this morning. A step ladder belonging to SpiceJet got detached from its parked position and damaged a stationary aircraft belonging to IndiGo," the IndiGo spokesperson said.

The incident is being investigated by concerned authorities, the spokesperson added.

SpiceJet said its step ladder was well secured and with chocks in place.

"On June 6, a SpiceJet step ladder was parked on stand C87 (where one of our aircraft VT-SLA was parked) at the Mumbai airport. On stand C86, an IndiGo aircraft was parked. Both aircraft were not in service at that time," a SpiceJet spokesperson said in a statement.

"At around 7.30 am, sudden strong winds picked up. There was no prior weather warning or advisory. SpiceJet's step ladder, which was well secured and with chocks in place, was moved backwards and hit the IndiGo aircraft on the right wing," the spokesperson said.