Singapore Airlines' A380 plane rolls back after parking at Delhi airport

Singapore Airlines' jumbo A380 aircraft rolled back at the Delhi airport after parking on Monday, an incident in which a cabin crew suffered a minor bruise, and later, the plane was towed back safely to its designated parking bay.

The aircraft was operating flight SQ406 from Singapore to the national capital on November 25.

In a statement on Wednesday, an airline spokesperson said the plane "experienced a rollback after parking" at the airport, and the pilot immediately applied the brakes to halt the aircraft.

Generally, after a plane lands and reaches the parking bay, the pilot first applies the toe brakes and then the parking brakes before switching off the engine. Later, the ground staff keep chocks on the front and back sides of the aircraft wheels. Once that process is complete, it is communicated to the pilot, who then releases the parking brakes.

 

Chocks are broadly wedges that are used to ensure there is no movement of wheels.

Also, some parking bays might have a slight slope to ensure that water does not get collected in that area.

A source in the know said the A380 aircraft rolled back for around 15-20 seconds, and possibly, the parking brakes could not be immediately applied due to a technical glitch.

"Once the aircraft was stationary, the pilots informed air traffic control, and ground staff safely towed the aircraft back to its designated parking bay. All passengers disembarked the aircraft normally, with no injuries reported.

"One cabin crew member suffered a minor bruise on her thigh, received medical attention, and was cleared to return to duties," the airline spokesperson said and apologised for any inconvenience caused by the incident.

A senior commander said the rollback of the aircraft after parking could have happened due to three possible scenarios.

One scenario could be that the pilot concerned had applied only the toe brakes and forgot to apply the parking brakes. Another possibility is that there was a miscommunication between the ground staff and pilot wherein the parking brakes were released before the chocks were placed, the commander said.

According to the commander, a third scenario could have been that the chocks were placed only in front of the wheels, and when parking brakes were released, the plane rolled back.

Many years ago, aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) issued a circular asking airlines to ensure that seat belt signs should be kept on till the parking brakes are released and also ensure that there is no movement of the aircraft. Such practices will further enhance the safety of passengers.

With seat belts on, the chances of passengers getting hurt due to sudden movement of the plane are reduced.