Hyderabad: Improper planning resulted in the crash of the decommissioned Airbus 320 aircraft on Monday. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was not followed while transporting the massive structure by road. Police were also not given details of the transport plan. North Zone police has booked a case against Air India and Durga Crane Services under IPC Section 336 for negligence.
Even the wings of the aircraft had not been dismantled. The aircraft, stripped of its engines and seats, was being carried by a crane. Durga Cranes, the operator, has never transported a full aircraft before. Air India’s Central Training Establishment (CTE), Director, Soman Atul said the hull weighed about 20 tonnes.
Two cranes and two trailers were brought. The crane capacity was over 100 tonnes each, said Mr Raavi Chakradhar of Durga Cranes that was hired as third party by Air India.
The crane company claimed it had carried equipment weighing over 50 tonnes before but did not give details. The aircraft has a wingspan of 150 feet, while the road was not half as wide. Though CTE officials planned to hoist the aircraft 50 feet and take it by road, they had not considered overhead cables. But they added personnel from TS discom were following the crane to ensure power is shut down along the route.
Mr V.N. Bharat Reddy, director, aviation, Telangana state government, said the safest way to transport a decommissioned aircraft is to dismantle it. “A standard operating procedure with route map should have been prepared,” he said.
Aviation historian P. Anuradha Reddy said it was irresponsible and dangerous to carry even an empty aircraft in this manner. “The only way is to detach wings and put the fuselage on a flat-bed trailer,” she said.
