Air India de-rosters 2 pilots, engineer, suspends technician

Mumbai/New Delhi The Mangalore-bound Air India aircraft, with 172 passengers and six crew onboard, was damaged on Tuesday when the plane prepared to taxi at the Mumbai airport with the aero-bridge attached, damaging the plane's door but no one was injured.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident and two Air India pilots have been grounded and an aircraft maintenance engineer was taken off it following the damage to the door, DGCA chief S N A Zaidi said in New Delhi.

Air India also de-rostered one technician and suspended one push-back tractor operator involved in the incident, an Air India statement issued in Mumbai said.

"The aircraft was pushed back while it was attached to the aerobridge," he said.

All passengers are safe, Air India spokesperson said in Mumbai. They were shifted to another aircraft and the flight took off at 12.20 pm, delayed by about 80 minutes.