Air India aircraft damaged after pushcart hits nose wheel at Dhaka airport

An Air India A320 aircraft sustained damage to its nose wheel (landing gear) after being struck by a pushcart operated by Biman's ground handling unit yesterday (15 November), reportedly due to the driver's negligence. 

The incident forced the cancellation of the scheduled flight.

Flight AI 238 was supposed to depart for Delhi from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 9:30pm yesterday.

The Biman's spokesperson Bosra Islam told The Business Standard, "The driver has already been withdrawn from airport duty and served a show-cause notice. The process to suspend him is underway."

She added that a probe committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

According to airport sources, after all 126 passengers had boarded and the aircraft doors were closed, a ground handler from the GSE unit was using a pushcart to lift the nose wheel. 

During the process, a major jolt occurred due to an operational mistake, causing the nose wheel to break instantly. 

The aircraft was then declared grounded. Passengers were later disembarked and taken to a hotel. On Sunday morning, some passengers were flown on another flight to Mumbai.

Sources further said the damage occurred because the tubeless pushcart struck the wheel at the wrong alignment. Repairing the damaged aircraft may take considerable time, while authorities are currently assessing the extent of the loss.