Sunday, April 10, 2016

Aircraft disassembled for transport

It was only after the accident that the company workers began looking for equipment to dismantle the aircraft.





Hyderabad: Air India’s Central Training Establishment has finally taken a decision to dismantle the aircraft and take it to its premises, an exercise that ought to have been carried in the first instance.

There were no gas cutters or other equipment with Durga Cranes, which was shifting the exercise. It was only after the accident that the company workers began looking for equipment to dismantle the aircraft.

The aircraft will now be dismantled into five parts and transported. Air India officials will assess the situation after the aircraft is dismantled and take a decision," a senior official from Air India said.

Though CTE and Durga Cranes officials refused to give details, sources said the overall cost of dismantling and transporting the aircraft by road works out to nearly Rs 50 lakh. Dismantling of the aircraft continued late into night and it is expected that it would be transported by Monday morning.

Officials deny giving nod to moving aircraft as whole

It was not clear just who gave the permission to transport an entire aircraft by road, Air India CTE director Soman Atul said they had applied to the Ranga Reddy district collector and all permissions were in place from the southern discom, law and order and traffic police. But the district collector said they had only applied, permission was not given.

“It is true that the Air India CTE management approached us and we forwarded the application to all the departments concerned seeking their response,” Ranga Reddy collector M. Raghunandan Rao said adding that the local tahsildar has been asked to report.

DCP, North Zone, N. Prakash Reddy said they received information only on Saturday about the transporting of the aircraft. ACP (Traffic-I) A. Muthyam Reddy said they were told that permissions were taken at the top level. Discom assistant engineer Suresh said engineers had accompanied the crane.

Original article can be found here:   http://www.deccanchronicle.com



Hyderabad: Improper planning resulted in the crash of the decommissioned Airbus 320 aircraft on Monday. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was not followed while transporting the massive structure by road. Police were also not given details of the transport plan. North Zone police has booked a case against Air India and Durga Crane Services under IPC Section 336 for negligence.

Even the wings of the aircraft had not been dismantled. The aircraft, stripped of its engines and seats, was being carried by a crane. Durga Cranes, the operator, has never transported a full aircraft before. Air India’s Central Training Establishment (CTE), Director, Soman Atul said the hull weighed about 20 tonnes.

Two cranes and two trailers were brought. The crane capacity was over 100 tonnes each, said Mr Raavi Chakradhar of Durga Cranes that was hired as third party by Air India.

The crane company claimed it had carried equipment weighing over 50 tonnes before but did not give details. The aircraft has a wingspan of 150 feet, while the road was not half as wide. Though CTE officials planned to hoist the aircraft 50 feet and take it by road, they had not considered overhead cables. But they added personnel from TS discom were following the crane to ensure power is shut down along the route.

Mr V.N. Bharat Reddy, director, aviation, Telangana state government, said the safest way to transport a decommissioned aircraft is to dismantle it. “A standard operating procedure with route map should have been prepared,” he said.

Aviation historian P. Anuradha Reddy said it was irresponsible and dangerous to carry even an empty aircraft in this manner. “The only way is to detach wings and put the fuselage on a flat-bed trailer,” she said.

Original article can be found here: http://www.deccanchronicle.com





HYDERABAD, APRIL 10:  

An unused Air India passenger plane had an ‘unscheduled landing’ while being transported on road in the Begumpet Airport here on Sunday. None was injured.

According to police, the Airbus A-320 was being shifted from the airport to Air India’s cadet training facility at Balanagar when the mishap occurred. 

A crane mounted on a 16-wheelbase transport carrier was expected to hold the plane aloft till it reaches the training facility.

A short while after the truck began moving, the crane toppled under the weight of the plane, dropping the aircraft on a wall nearby.

The totally damaged plane was recently repaired for instructional purpose and was put on display during the aviation show held last month.

Original article can be found here: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

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