A simulator to help those driving coaches between the airport terminal and aircraft and those driving the tow trucks or pushback tractors (that is used to tow an aircraft) will be set up at the Chennai airport soon.
Officials said training for ground staff with the help of a simulator has become a necessity after a few minor accidents occurred on the tarmac.
Periodic training
Those who received training include fire personnel, staff of various airlines and the ground handling agency.
“A few months ago, an airline’s ground staff manning a tow truck hit an aircraft and there was a minor damage. Though it was not a serious incident, we want to take steps to prevent major accidents. Another reason is that we notice these staff indulging in rash driving sometimes and it may lead to a serious accident one day,” an official said.
The process is on to procure the simulator and it will be here in a few months. The staff will have periodic training as soon as it is put in place, he added.
In the past there have been quite a few incidents of poor driving by ground staff, either employed by an airline or by the ground handling agency.
In November 2013, the driver of a tow tractor lost control and to avoid ramming an aircraft, he hit an aerobridge and an airline technician, injuring him.
In August 2012, a man who drove a pushback tractor rammed a freight aircraft, which was grounded for a few days. In yet another incident, a year before that, the pushback tractor hit an aircraft door and an aerobridge.
