Air India engineer's death: 'A black day in the history of Indian aviation'

After the freak accident at Mumbai airport claimed superintendent service engineer Ravi Subramanian's life, a maintenance manager from the airport has pointed out serious mistakes committed by the pilots, in an email written to Air India's senior officials in Delhi. While the mail reveals a ‘lack of proper coordination between the two pilots and the ground staff,' cops investigating the case have not taken any action against the pilots.

Family and friends of the late Ravi Subramanian gathered at his Sanpada residence yesterday. His wife Sujata was inconsolable, while their son Krishna performed the last rites. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

In the mail, titled ‘A black day in the history of Indian aviation,' Pradeep Singh Rawat has pointed at the ‘grey areas of the tragedy' on bay 28L after speaking to Subramanian's colleagues. The incident allegedly took place while Subramanian was looking over the departure of Air India's Airbus 319 aircraft. He was wearing headphones and was present at the spot with a pushcart loader named ET Shinde. The flight (AI-619) was being pushed back for departure to Hyderabad.

After the pushback was completed, Subramanian had instructed Shinde to carry out the process of detaching the tow bar. While he was still standing on the right side of the aircraft with his back towards it, the pilots received taxi clearance from ATC.

Ravi Subramanian

Mistaking SOPs?
The co-pilot allegedly told the pilot that the aircraft is clear after push back. According to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) (see box) of take off, the pilot holds till he sees the engineer moving forward and to his left. He starts the engines only after the ground controller shows the pilot a safety pin - removed from the undercarriage of the aircraft - and gives him a thumbs-up signal.

"But in this case, it was negligence on the pilot's part, as he switched on the throttle at a higher speed, without any signal from the engineer. In this case, the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer wasn't at the position he should have been. This needs to be investigated," said an airline official.

The co-pilot is responsible for checking both sides of the aircraft for obstructions, and for informing the pilot to go ahead. However, in this case, he informed the pilot that the aircraft is clear and there are no obstructions. After this, the pilot started the engines and Subramanian was sucked inside the engine. Rawat's report says that Shinde immediately lay down, thus saving himself.

"No chocks (breaks) were placed after the push back, no clearance signals taken from engineer before taxi out and lack of proper coordination between P1 (pilot) P2 (co-pilot) and ground staff (in this case Subramanian)," Rawat said in his report.

The report indirectly points out that the pilots didn't wait for Subramanian's signal before readying for departure, and didn't apply brakes after the aircraft was detached from the tow van.

Expert says
Mohan Ranganathan, aviation safety consultant said, "It's obvious that someone hasn't followed the SOP, due to which this incident took place. It's wrong to blame the pilots because only they know what happened inside the cockpit and the voice recorder will be able to throw light on it."

Speaking to mid-day, PSI LG Thatye, an investigating officer in the case, said, "We have registered an Accidental Death Report and are investigating if there were any lapses in the SOPs. We haven't taken any action against the pilots as of now," said Thatye. However, another police officer, who is aware of Rawat's letter, said, "Only after the black box details are available, the picture will get clearer."

Virendra Mishra, DCP Zone VIII said, "Our investigations are going on and depending on the outcome, we will take action." Subramanian's son Krishna said, "I think the incident has taken place due to the mistake of the pilots, and I request an inquiry in the matter." The pilot of the flight, Captain AG Sharma was questioned for nearly two hours by DGCA yesterday after which he will also be questioned by the Sahar Police today.