The Hindu : Front Page : Kingfisher forced to abort flight

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Friday, Apr 04, 2008
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Kingfisher forced to abort flight

Special Correspondent

Serious security lapse at Shamshabad airport; ‘dangerous’ cargo sets off alarm

Lives of 90 Delhi-bound passengers could have been in jeopardy
An unidentified substance was located, says GMR

HYDERABAD: In a serious security lapse, which could have endangered the lives of 90 passengers aboard a Kingfisher aircraft on Thursday morning, a container of a ‘dangerous’ substance was loaded into it and its reported spillage forced the New Delhi-bound plane to abort its schedule. The plane returned to Shamshabad airport.

With the accusing finger being pointed at the GMR’s security screening staff, the DGCA has ordered an inquiry and suspended the certificate of the operator who cleared the ‘dangerous cargo’, a civil aviation security official disclosed from New Delhi.

“We have also asked for a report on the incident from GMR,” said a DGCA official here. Kingfisher accommodated 73 passengers of IT-801, in another aircraft to Delhi, while 17 cancelled their trip. The passengers were merely informed of a ‘technical snag’ when it returned to the airport. The Airbus 320 was later cleared for flight operations.

The plane was airborne for about 12 minutes, when the smoke detecting alarms went off and the commander instantly decided to return. “During precautionary unloading of the cargo, an unidentified substance was located,” a terse statement from GMR said without specifying how it was cleared for carriage. It was said that the cargo in question was booked for Delhi. “There must have been some spillage leading to fumes setting off the smoke detection alarm,” industry sources said. While GMR was not forthcoming with an explanation on how the cargo was cleared, Kingfisher blamed the GMR staff.

“The cargo contained a powder which would not otherwise have been accepted and cleared for carriage,” a Kingfisher official said. Industry experts point out that the cargo screening staff should compulsorily undergo a ‘dangerous goods and regulations’ course, but the GMR staff were apparently not well-versed with the stipulated regulations.

No sabotage

The ‘powder’ was seized and handed over to the security for analysis. The possibility of ‘sabotage angle’ was, however, ruled out by the police. Neither Kingfisher nor GMR clarified whether the alarm went off because of fumes or flames. Kingfisher said it screens its cargo consignments elsewhere, “however, at Hyderabad’s new airport, the security screening is conducted by GMR,” it said in a statement.

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