Pushcart Mishap Grounds Air India Aircraft at Dhaka Airport
An Air India A320 aircraft was grounded and its scheduled flight cancelled after the nose wheel (landing gear) was damaged due to the negligence and carelessness of a pushcart operator under Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ ground-handling division. The affected flight, AI 238, was scheduled to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Delhi at 9:30 PM on Saturday.
According to airport sources, after 126 passengers had boarded and the aircraft doors were closed, a ground handler from Biman’s GSE division used a pushcart to lift the aircraft’s front wheel. During this operation, the handler mistakenly applied a heavy push, resulting in a major jolt. The impact immediately broke the nose wheel, forcing the aircraft to be declared grounded. Passengers were later disembarked and transported to a hotel. On Sunday morning, a portion of the passengers was flown to Mumbai on another Air India flight.
Air India has since sought compensation from Biman’s management. The damaged aircraft remains parked in the bay area.
Eyewitnesses reported that the damage occurred because the pushcart—without tubeless tires—struck the alignment ring improperly. They stated that the incident was entirely due to the operator’s negligence and irresponsibility. Repairing the aircraft may take considerable time, and Biman is assessing the extent of the losses.
When contacted, Biman’s Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Md. Shafiqul Rahman, stated that the operator involved has already been withdrawn from the airport and issued a show-cause notice. He added that the operator “will be suspended on Monday.”
DBTech/SS/IK/OR
