Picture from Wikipedia
Delhi, November 25, 2024: A Singapore Airlines A380 (flight SQ406) rolled back after landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport roughly around 8 PM on Monday, in a worrying phenomenon. After parking, the plane, which had come from Singapore, started to go backward since the parking brake had not been applied. This human error emphasizes the constant necessity for attention to detail in aviation, where sophisticated technology and human supervision must coexist together. Fortunately, none of the passengers were hurt.
What happened?
After landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the enormous, double-decker Airbus A380, the world’s biggest passenger airplane, slid backward for a few seconds. The rollover was caused by a failure to deploy the parking brake, which barely lasted a millisecond before the pilots regained control. A cabin crew member suffered a minor injury but was cleared for duty following a medical examination. All passengers departed safely, and the aircraft eventually towed to its allotted parking spot.
Simplified Understanding of Aircraft Parking Brakes
After an aircraft lands, engaging the parking brake is a standard safety step performed during post-landing procedures. Once the aircraft comes to a complete stop and engines are turned off, pilots activate the parking brake to lock the wheels in place. This hydraulic or pneumatic system ensures the plane remains stationary, especially during passenger disembarkation and cargo unloading.
In this incident, the failure to engage the brake caused the rollback, underscoring the importance of strict adherence to procedural checklists for pilot and ground crew safety.
Singapore Airlines acknowledged the event and expressed regret for the inconvenience.
“We apologize for any disruption our crew and passengers have experienced. A comprehensive study is being conducted to identify the reason and put preventative measures in place. Safety remains our first concern”
This statement was shared with media outlets including Times Now and Hindustan Times
Past Similar Incidents
While uncommon, rollback incidents have occurred in aviation history. For instance:
Virgin Atlantic A330, 2018: Rolled back at Heathrow Airport due to a parking brake issue, causing damage but no injuries.
United Airlines, 2019: At Newark Airport, misapplication of brakes resulted in a rollback, raising questions about procedural training.
Such events underscore the need for meticulous pilot training and frequent reinforcement of safety procedures.
The Way Ahead
Despite their rarity, occurrences such as these present possibilities to improve safety standards, according to aviation experts. Some suggestions are as follows:
- More thorough training for pilots.
- Enhanced procedures for communication between ground personnel and pilots.
- To maintain uniformity, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should be reviewed.
This serves as a reminder that, despite advanced technology and skilled workers, aviation safety procedures and attentiveness remain unavoidable. The industry’s dedication to learning from and improving from such accidents to uphold passenger trust and safety standards is demonstrated by Singapore Airlines’ prompt response while the inquiry continues.
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