Tow tractor damages Air India plane just before take off at Delhi International Airport, probe initiated

After the incident of a SpiceJet plane hitting a pole at the airport another incident has come to light in which an Air India plane was damaged after getting hit by a tow tractor.

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One of Air India's planes sustained damage at the Delhi airport when a tow tractor malfunctioned and collided with the plane's nose while pushing it back for take-off, the information was revealed by senior officials of the DGCA. After the incident the 182-seater Guwahati-bound jet was grounded for inspection and repair, they claimed, but no one was hurt.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun an investigation into the Air India plane incident, the officials said. On March 28, a wing of a SpiceJet plane hit a lightning pole at the Delhi airport when the aircraft was pushed back from the parking position before it was to take off for Jammu.

Describing the Tuesday incident, officials said as the plane was being pushed back by the tow tractor towards the runway, the tow bar's holding pin broke and the tractor collided around the nose portion of the plane. Air India did not respond to a query on this matter.

With inputs from PTI