Air India staffer dies after getting sucked into plane engine in Mumbai

Ravi Subramanian, an Air India technician, died on Wednesday after he was sucked into the engine of a parked plane at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. When the Mumbai-Hyderabad flight AI 619 began its pushback at 8.46 pm, Subramanian got pulled into the engine and died instantly. Airport sources say his body is severely mutilated. [caption id=“attachment_2538928” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] Air India aircraft/ Representational image[/caption] The airline has ordered an investigation into the incident. The DGCA also ordered an inquiry. Soon after the terrible accident, an airport official told Hindustan Times : ‘The body is still stuck in the engine, efforts are going on to retrieve it.’ It is not yet clear how the worker came to be so close to the engine. Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani said, “We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport this evening when an Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619. The incident is being investigated.” “During the pusback, the co-pilot mistook a signal for engine start. As he switched on the engine, it sucked in the technician standing nearby,” Air India sources said. The Indian Express reports that Subramaniam, 56, was a Vashi resident and worked as a service engineer. His job included disconnecting the pushcart from the aircraft before it moves towards the runway. When the accident happened, an aircraft maintenance engineer was also with him. The Mumbai Police is also investigating the accident. “Prima facie evidence indicates a case of accidental death, no one appears to be at fault,” Virendra Mishra, zonal DCP, said. A case of accidental death has been registered at the Sahar police station.

BA passenger seriously injured A holidaymaker had to be taken to hospital after being seriously injured when he was hit on the head by a passenger’s bag that fell from an overhead locker as the plane prepared for take-off on 16 December, barely a few hours before the Air India tragedy. The man, who has not been named, was struck in the head by the hand luggage as the British Airways flight prepared to depart London’s Heathrow Airport for Bangkok in Thailand. Fellow passengers claimed the overhead locker ‘burst open’ as the plane was taxiing down the runway and reported hearing a ’terrible sound’ as the man fell to the floor after being struck. With inputs from agencies