Wings of two planes brush against each other

In a serious breach of aviation safety precautions, two Jet Airways aircraft on Sunday came so close on the runway at the Delhi airport that their wings brushed against each other, prompting the airline to deroster the pilots.

All passengers and crew of the two aircraft were reported safe, the airline said in a statement. The incident took place when one of the planes was taxiing and the other was getting ready for take off.

The Air Traffic Control gave permission to Jet Airways 9W 730 from Delhi to Patna for taxiing on runway 29 at 2.48 pm. It then allowed the airlines’ 9W 603 flight from Delhi to Srinagar to taxi on the same runway at 2.53 pm.

The Patna-bound aircraft had 115 passengers and eight crew members on board, while the Delhi-Srinagar flight had 137 people, including eight crew. At 2.59 pm, the Patna-bound aircraft reported “ground collision” after the Delhi-Srinagar flight brushed against its wing.

The airline said regulatory authorities were informed about the incident and cockpit crew of the two aircraft taken off duty pending investigation.

Engineers of the Jet Airways are inspecting the aircraft, an official statement said.