GoAir plane carrying 168 passengers hits aerobridge at Chennai airport; none hurt

Chennai: A stationary Airbus 320 plane of budget carrier GoAir with 168 passengers on board that had just arrived from Mumbai was on Friday hit by an aerobridge while being docked at the airport, causing some damage to the aircraft.All passengers including an infant and the crew were safe in the incident that occurred at around at 6.35 AM.[caption id="attachment_2336688" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational Image. Reuters[/caption]"GoAir flight G8-305 Mumbai-Chennai was hit by the aerobridge this morning at 6.35 am. The aircraft was stationary waiting for the aerobridge to be connected," GoAir said in a statement.The aerobridge operator of the Airports Authority of India(AAI) was unable to safely align the jet bridge to the aircraft as he was "too fast" and thus unable to control its movement, the statement said, adding he lost control causing this "unfortunate incident".Aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident and the aircraft has been grounded. DGCA sources said that the aerobridge operator was apparently talking over phone during the docking procedure and in the process lost control of the jet way.Customers booked on the onward Chennai-Port Blair flight and those on other subsequent flights have been re-accommodated on other GoAir flights tomorrow or on other airlines, the airline said.As assessment of the damage is being done, following which further course of action would be initiated. The side door of the aircraft got slightly damaged in the incident, a statement from the Chennai Airport Director's office said. "The Passenger Boarding Bridge(PBB) operator was licenced to operate the PBB and the incident is being investigated by DGCA," it added.According to DGCA sources, GoAir has shifted the aircraft to the Air India hangar for repair."Repair will be carried out by Air India's authorised personnel," they said.PTI