Air India plane was preparing to take off for Delhi from Mumbai when she fell from the aircraft
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau or AAIB has started a probe into the incident where a 53-year-old flight attendant fell from a parked Air India plane while closing its door at Mumbai airport, an official said on Tuesday.
The flight attendant, who suffered serious injuries after falling from the plane on Monday, is stable, though her right leg requires multiple surgeries, the authorities at Nanavati Hospital said.
The wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft was preparing to take off for New Delhi when Harsha Lobo fell on the tarmac from a height of 20 feet, apparently through a gap between the rear door and the step ladder.
"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has taken over the probe into the incident at the Mumbai airport in which a female flight attendant had fallen off from the Boeing 777 aircraft Monday morning," a senior official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
AAIB is the top investigation body under the civil aviation ministry and has the mandate to probe accidents relating to planes registered in India.
"The incident is being treated as serious and for this reason, the AAIB has been asked to carry out a probe," the official added.
On Monday, a DGCA official had also said the aviation regulator is probing the incident.
Air India's safety wing is also investigating the causes that led to the incident.
The authorities at Nanavati Hospital said the flight attendant's health condition is stable. She is responding to treatment. "Her right leg requires multiple surgeries in the next few days," the hospital said in a statement.