Fearing collision with Air India plane, 30 passengers on SpiceJet bus jump off

New Delhi: Thirty passengers aboard a stationary SpiceJet bus at Jabalpur airport had the fright of their lives on Saturday when an Air India aircraft seemed to be heading straight for them.

Panicking, the passengers jumped off the bus only for the Air India plane’s wing to pass very close to the bus without hitting it, said a report.

The passengers had arrived in Jabalpur from Delhi in a flight which was to proceed to Mumbai.

Following the incident, the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a warning to Air India. The report says that the ATR-72 aircraft was allegedly not being marshalled to the parking bay by a trained personnel but a helper, thus nearly causing an accident.

Also, Dumna airport director Ramtanu Saha was quoted as saying that SpiceJet had lodged a complaint which is being probed and the report would be sent to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). He said that as per protocol, AI pilots should have reported the matter to ATC officials.

But Air India officials claimed that there was a ‘safe distance’ between the aircraft and the SpiceJet bus. They alleged that after parking the SpiceJet captain got physically abusive with the AI technician.

DGCA on the other hand feels “prima facie” the fault may have been of AI. DGCA chief BS Bhullar has sent his observations in this regard to Air India top management, said the report, while the probe is still on.