Five passengers on an IndiGo coach at the Indira Gandhi International airport were injured on Friday evening after a coach window shattered, allegedly due to the blast from the engine of a taxiing Spicejet plane.
IndiGo claimed that the jet blast — the rapid movement of air from jet engines produced at or prior to an aircraft’s take off — from the SpiceJet aircraft broke the right front window glass of the coach. However, SpiceJet maintained there was no damage to the window panes of any aircraft.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed of the incident while the Delhi Police have registered a case of causing hurt due to negligence and are in the process of establishing culpability.
According to IndiGo, its coach number 34 was parked at Bay 17 at 4:50 p.m. for the boarding of passengers on flight 6E-191 en route to Mumbai from Delhi when an incoming Spicejet flight SG-253, chose to park at the allocated bay and the jet blast from the aircraft shattered the right front window glass of the coach.
“Five of our passengers seated in the coach received minor injuries. IndiGo ground staff immediately alerted the airport staff and took them to the airport clinic where they were given all the medical assistance. Two of the passengers decided to continue their journey after receiving first aid. The flight departed from Delhi after ensuring all passengers had been given assistance,” the statement said.
SpiceJet said flight SG 253, flying from Chandigarh to Delhi, was following ATC instructions and taxiing after landing at Delhi and that it was too early to say if the incident was caused by an outside object or jet blast of its aircraft or the IndiGo bus had violated the vehicular movement lane or any other reason.
“It is also too early to apportion responsibility as the pilots were following normal procedures as is done world wide. In any case we have informed the regulator and the airline is closely cooperating with all assistance,” it said in a statement.
