Technician gets sucked into Air India plane engine, dies

Mumbai: In a freak accident, an aircraft technician died after being sucked into the engine of an Air India (AI) aircraft during pushback at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday evening.

The mishap occurred when the co-pilot of Mumbai-Hyderabad Flight 619 mistook a signal for starting the engine and the victim, Ravi Subramanian, who was standing close, got sucked into it. The incident occurred at Bay 28 of the domestic airport around 8:40 pm.

Confirming the incident, AI CMD Ashwani Lohani said the incident is being investigated.

“During the pusback, the co-pilot mistook a signal for engine start. As he switched on the engine, it sucked in the technician standing nearby,” AI sources said. The body was mangled beyond recognition.

Top officials of AI, Mumbai airport, CISF and Mumbai Police rushed to the spot. Lohani said he was deeply saddened by the tragic incident. “We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport this evening when an Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619. The incident is being investigated. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” Lohani said. Experts said they have not heard of such an incident.