IndiGo Airlines worker falls to his death at Kolkata airport

KOLKATA, India – An IndiGo Airlines employee whose job was to ensure the safety and maintenance of ramps, fell 25 feet to his death at the Kolkata airport early on Wednesday after walking through an a

KOLKATA, India – An IndiGo Airlines employee whose job was to ensure the safety and maintenance of ramps, fell 25 feet to his death at the Kolkata airport early on Wednesday after walking through an aircraft door that did not have a ramp.

The 30-year-old Debasish Dev, a customer service executive (ramps), was overseeing the cleaning of the aircraft that was being readied for the day when the incident occurred, a little after 3am.

who supervized cleaning of aircraft and ensured ramps were operated in a safe, secure and timely manner, died on the airport tarmac early on Wednesday after walking through an aircraft door that did not have a ramp.

The headlong plunge from the rear door of the Airbus A-320 on to the concrete surface split Dev’s skull, killing him on the spot.

It isn’t clear whether Dev stepped out of the cabin through the rear door by mistake or whether he misjudged the width of the galley while checking it. It is, however, being examined whether adequate safety protocols were in place and whether they were being followed.

The police have started a case of death due to negligence against the airline.

According to the airline, the ramp is attached only to the front door during cleaning operations at night. The rear door is, however, also kept open to air the cabin. “A caution tape is strung across the door to warn people,” the official said.

This practice may come in for scrutiny as the aircraft maintenance manager is required to shut the rear door after passengers alight. “An aircraft maintenance engineer is supposed to ensure that the door is properly shut. But often, he delegates the job to technicians,” said an airport source.

While the airline insists that the tape was in place, an industry official said the measure wasn’t adequate to prevent accidents. “If someone is walking back while checking the floor, he will not spot the tape,” he said. “Instead, he will topple over it and fall off. That is what seems to have happened in this case. The airline should have had a security official in position at the rear door. Had it done so, the accident could have been prevented.”

Industry sources said fatigue from long work hours could also have contributed to the accident as alertness dips sharply as one gets tired. “To be competitive, carriers have to check fixed costs like salaries. Airlines often adopt the ‘right staffing’ strategy – or hiring just enough people to do the job. Over a period of time, work pressure builds up, fatigue sets in and things like safety protocols get ignored,” he said.

IndiGo, though, officially denies that its schedule is “punishing”.

which flaunts the best on-time performance record in the industry, follows a rigorous and tightly compressed work schedule to ensure that flights are not delayed. But ensuring that it works day after day with just about enough staff takes its toll. The airline though denies its schedule is punishing.

The IndiGo brass has always claimed that the safety protocols followed by the airline were among the best in the industry.

“No other airline cordons off the area around the engines to prevent any untoward incident or provides a ramp instead of a step-ladder that makes it easy to take a wheelchair into the cabin,” airline president Aditya Ghosh had told TOI sometime ago.

Following Wednesday’s tragedy, officials conceded that it would perhaps need to strengthen the protocols. “While we are investigating the cause of the death, we continue to work with local authorities and the airport officials to investigate the accident. This is a very difficult day for us and we are trying to come to grips with the tragedy,” read a statement issued by the airline.

Dev, a Santoshpur resident, had joined the airline in 2007. He had a reputation as being hardworking and conscientious among colleagues, who referred to him as the “professor”.

“Though colleagues would often pull his leg, he never took it to heart. Professionally, he was very dedicated. He had risen to the supervisory post and performed his duties earnestly,” said a colleague.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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