AI flight delayed to return phone to staffer
Manju.V@timesgroup.com 18.04.2018
Mumbai: Seconds after an Air India Dreamliner began taxiing for departure from London Heathrow to Ahmedabad, the commander learnt that a ground personnel had left his mobile phone behind in the aircraft. The commander decided to stop the aircraft, have a flight attendant open an aircraft door and drop the phone to the ground staffer. Since that generous gesture has made it to a newspaper, suffice to say, it didn’t go to plan.
What unfolded instead has arguably turned flight AI-176 into world’s first documented case of nomophobialed deployment of an inflatable slide raft and a consequent flight delay.
The incident took place on March 18, when seconds into taxiing the commander of the AI Boeing 787-800 (VT-ANP) found out about the unaccompanied cellphone on board his flight. “It belonged to an aircraft maintenance engineer who had readied the flight for departure. He deplaned leaving his London-based cellphone on the flight,’’ said a source.
What transpired next was a series of incredible decisions. “The commander informed the ground staff and asked the engineer to reach the aircraft to collect the phone,’’ said the source. He instructed the cabin crew-incharge to “recycle the door’’, open it and throw the phone. To recycle the door means to change the mode it is set in. Aircraft doors are either set in automatic mode (called “armed” in aviation parlance) or manual mode (unarmed).
“Many tasks need to be completed before cabin crew can strap themselves for takeoff. Amid the confusion caused by the cellphone on the AI flight, the cabin crew-incharge (who is based in Mumbai) appears to have forgotten to change the door’s mode to manual,” said the source.
“As soon as the armed door was opened, the slide raft inflated and fell into position ready for an evacuation,’’ the official added. With one inflatable slide raft deployed, the departure had to be delayed. AI0176, which had started taxiing at 2 pm before the mobile phone fiasco, finally departed at 3.46pm.
On the incident, an Air India spokesperson said, “the March 18 London-Ahmedabad flight was delayed after an evacuation slide deployed”, without divulging details.
Manju.V@timesgroup.com 18.04.2018
Mumbai: Seconds after an Air India Dreamliner began taxiing for departure from London Heathrow to Ahmedabad, the commander learnt that a ground personnel had left his mobile phone behind in the aircraft. The commander decided to stop the aircraft, have a flight attendant open an aircraft door and drop the phone to the ground staffer. Since that generous gesture has made it to a newspaper, suffice to say, it didn’t go to plan.
What unfolded instead has arguably turned flight AI-176 into world’s first documented case of nomophobialed deployment of an inflatable slide raft and a consequent flight delay.
The incident took place on March 18, when seconds into taxiing the commander of the AI Boeing 787-800 (VT-ANP) found out about the unaccompanied cellphone on board his flight. “It belonged to an aircraft maintenance engineer who had readied the flight for departure. He deplaned leaving his London-based cellphone on the flight,’’ said a source.
What transpired next was a series of incredible decisions. “The commander informed the ground staff and asked the engineer to reach the aircraft to collect the phone,’’ said the source. He instructed the cabin crew-incharge to “recycle the door’’, open it and throw the phone. To recycle the door means to change the mode it is set in. Aircraft doors are either set in automatic mode (called “armed” in aviation parlance) or manual mode (unarmed).
“Many tasks need to be completed before cabin crew can strap themselves for takeoff. Amid the confusion caused by the cellphone on the AI flight, the cabin crew-incharge (who is based in Mumbai) appears to have forgotten to change the door’s mode to manual,” said the source.
“As soon as the armed door was opened, the slide raft inflated and fell into position ready for an evacuation,’’ the official added. With one inflatable slide raft deployed, the departure had to be delayed. AI0176, which had started taxiing at 2 pm before the mobile phone fiasco, finally departed at 3.46pm.
On the incident, an Air India spokesperson said, “the March 18 London-Ahmedabad flight was delayed after an evacuation slide deployed”, without divulging details.
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