Near miss at Delhi airport as SpiceJet flight hits electric pole before take-off

New Delhi: It was a close call for a SpiceJet aircraft on Thursday night at Delhi's IGI airport. The flight, departing for Pune, hit an electric pole on the runway before take-off and damaged the right wing.

Passengers were left stranded inside the aircraft waiting for a replacement for over two hours. The accident is being investigated.

"The incident happened around 7.40 PM yesterday, when SpiceJet's Boeing 737-800, operating on Delhi-Hyderbad route (SG 239), was taxing out of Delhi airport. The aircraft's left wing touched a highmast lamp post situated along side the taxiway," a source said on Friday.

Passengers were left stranded inside the aircraft waiting for a replacement for over two hours.

The pilot of the aircraft aborted the take-off and the passengers were sent to Hyderabad in a separate plane after a delay of about two hours, they said, adding the aircraft departed from Delhi at 21:25 hours.

The airline, in a statement, termed it a minor incident saying, "We are doing an internal investigation in this matter. We would like to reiterate that for SpiceJet, safety of its passengers is of utmost important."

(With Additional Inputs from PTI)

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