Wings of two aircraft collide, more than 190 passengers safe

The wings of two aircraft collided at the IGI airport here early Wednesday morning but there were no casualties. More than 190 passengers and crew were reported to be safe.

According to airport sources, the incident took place around 2.30 a.m. when the wing of an Ethiopian Airlines' aircraft came in contact with that of an Air India plane which was parked nearby.

The Ethiopian Airlines' aircraft was being "pushed-back" for take-off to Addis Ababa when the incident took place.

"There were more than 190 passengers and crew on-board the Ethiopian Airlines' aircraft, when the incident took place. All passengers and crew were safe," airport sources said.

"The Ethiopian Airlines' aircraft was being pushed-back by a tractor, when the wings of the two aircraft came in contact."

In aviation parlance, a push-back manoeuvre is carried out to ferry aircraft from the parking bay to the tarmac, after which the plane uses its own engines' power to reach the main runway for take-off.

Further, airport sources added that civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a probe into the incident.

--IANS

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