An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said.
The IndiGo flight was headed to Darbhanga, while the Air India Express plane was scheduled to leave for Chennai.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation promptly de-rostered the two pilots and ordered an enquiry into the freak accident, DGCA sources said adding both the plane had returned to the bay.
“The wingtip of a taxiing aircraft of another airline grazed one of our aircraft, which was stationary and awaiting clearance to enter the runway at Kolkata for a scheduled operation to Chennai,” an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement adding an investigation was on.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in a statement that the wingtip vortices of both planes were badly damaged. The incident happened at about 11 am, sources said, adding both the flights were delayed.
IndiGo authorities said it was a “minor graze between a taxiing IndiGo aircraft and that of another carrier,” adding “the aircraft returned to bay for inspection and necessary action, as per protocol.” An “incident report will be submitted to DGCA in due course,” the IndiGo authorities said.
