Air India Express plane hits electric pole while taxiing, minor damage to right wing; passengers safe

A Boeing aircraft of Air India Express suffered a minor damage on its right wing after it hit an electric pole while taxiing on the runway at the Vijayawada airport on Saturday evening, but all 64 passengers aboard were safe, airport officials said.

The flight landed at the airport at Gannavaram from Doha, en route Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, when the mishap occurred, according to airport director Madhusudana Rao. Of the 64, 19 passengers were to disembark at Vijayawada while the rest were bound for Tiruchirappalli. One of the passengers, Reshma of Nidadavole, said it was a happy landing finally though there was a bit of panic when there was a sudden jerk during taxiing.

"By God's grace there was nothing untoward. The airlines staff said the mishap was only minor, which came as a big relief to us," another passenger Varalakshmi of Kakinada said. The aircraft had been grounded in Vijayawada even as the authorities were making alternative arrangements for flying the 45 passengers to Tiruchirappalli later tonight, airport sources said.