Air India Chairman, Ashwani Lohani, announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a job in the airline to the kin of the AI engineer who was killed in a freak accident on Wednesday. The engineer was sucked into the engine of an aircraft.
“We have lost a family member. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh has been given to the family. We have also offered a job to the family of the victim,” Lohani told reporters at the airport on Thursday.
He said the funeral of Ravi Subramanian will be held on Friday and a two-minute silence will be observed in AI offices across the network at 11 am.
When asked about the accident, Lohani said that the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is already conducting an investigation and it would be improper for him to comment.
However, he said “initially it seems that there was some communication gap. No disciplinary action has been taken against anyone till now”.
In a freak accident on Wednesday, a service engineer, who was signalling the aircraft to reverse before take-off, got sucked-in by the roaring engine and died immediately. The Air India flight AI-619 was supposed to travel from Hyderabad from Mumbai.
The mishap occurred when the co-pilot mistook a signal for starting the engine and Subramanian, who was standing close, got sucked into it. The incident took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport at around 8:40 pm.
“During the pushback, the co-pilot mistook a signal for engine start. As he switched on the engine, it sucked in the technician standing nearby,” Air India had earlier said.
A committee, comprising Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani and senior DGCA officials, has already reached Mumbai, he said.