An unused Air India passenger plane had an ‘unscheduled landing’ while being transported on road in the Begumpet Airport at Hyderabad 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.
An official said the 70-ton (CHK) A-320 aircraft, which is not in service, was being moved out of the airport to the Air India training academy at 7 am when the crane lost its balance and collapsed.
The 200-ton crane crashed on the compound wall of the Hitech club near a school on the old Airport road. The plane was damaged.
“It was an unused aircraft and was being shifted to the training establishment at a distance of about 4 km from the airport for training purpose. Crane services had been engaged and while the aircraft was being lifted today, the crane bars got bent and it collapsed at around 7.15 am,” K Kiran, a police officer, said.
A gap was made in the airport boundary wall to allow the truck carrying the crane to move the aircraft to the training establishment 3 km away.
“An old hull stationed at Old Begumpet airport (Hyderabad) was being moved from Air India hangar for training purpose,” said a statement released by Air India on the incident.
Air India further said that while the hull was successfully taken out of airport the crane later gave away making the aircraft unstable.
