KOLKATA: Fifty-nine passengers bound for Guwahati were stranded at the Kolkata airport for five and a half hours after the Airbus 319 aircraft they were to travel in hit a step ladder just before takeoff.
All the passengers had boarded the aircraft well before 10am on Saturday morning and the captain prepared to taxi out of the parking bay . After the aircraft had been pushed back into position, it began to roll forward. Immediately thereafter, the right wing hit a step ladder that had not been removed to a safe distance. The aircraft immediately ground to a halt.
On inspection, engineers found that the aircraft wing had been damaged and was unfit to make the flight. The step ladder too had been completely twisted. Passengers were then transported back to the terminal.
It was only later in the afternoon that AI managed to arrange for an alternative aircraft for the stranded passengers.
