SpiceJet technician dies in freak accident at Kolkata airport

A SpiceJet technician was killed after he got stuck between the hydraulic door flaps of the main landing gear of an aircraft during maintenance at Kolkata airport early Wednesday (July 10), the airline said.

The hydraulic doors “inadvertently” got closed leaving Rohit Pandey trapped there, SpiceJet said in a statement. The landing-gear doors of the Bombardier Q400 aircraft had to be broken to rescue Pandey but he was declared dead, it said. The accident happened at 1.45 am, according to an airport official.

“Pandey was doing maintenance work in right hand main landing gear wheel well area of a Q400 aircraft which was parked in Bay No 32 at Kolkata airport on July 10. Inadvertently, the main landing gear hydraulic door closed and he got stuck in between the hydraulic door flaps,” SpiceJet said. “The hydraulic doors were broken to rescue Pandey but he was declared dead,” it added.

A complaint on “unnatural death” was filed at Airport police station, a senior police officer said. A police team visited the spot where the accident happened, the officer said, adding forensic experts will now collect evidence. “Our officers have reached the spot. We are talking to other staffers of the airline who were present there. We are trying to understand whether it was a technical glitch or the result of someones callousness,” the officer said.

In 2015, an Air India service engineer was killed after he got sucked into the live engine of an Aibus A319 aircraft at Mumbai airport.