Singapore Airlines pilots forget to apply parking brake, plane rolls back at Delhi Airport, a cabin crew sustains injury

NEW DELHI: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) Airbus A380 on Monday (Nov 25) night rolled back at Delhi Airport at the parking bay as the pilots allegedly forgot to put on the parking brake.

Fortunately, it did not hit any other plane or ground crew vehicles.

The pilots quickly applied the brakes once they realised the mistake, reported TOI.

The world’s largest double decker commercial airline had landed at the Indira Gandhi Airport from Singapore at around 8pm.

“The parking bay has a slight slope to ensure water flows out towards the apron during rains.

“After docking at the parking bay, the aircraft rolled back at 8.14 pm. Then the pilots applied the parking brake,” said airport sources.

In a statement, SIA said: “A Singapore Airlines (SIA) Airbus A380, operating flight SQ406 from Singapore to New Delhi experienced a rollback after parking at IGIA on Nov 25, 2024.

“The pilot immediately applied the brakes to halt the aircraft. Once the aircraft was stationary, the pilots informed air traffic control, and ground staff safely towed the aircraft back to its designated parking bay.

“All passengers disembarked the aircraft normally with no injuries reported.

“One cabin crew member suffered a minor bruise on her thigh, received medical attention, and was cleared to return to duties. SIA apologises for any inconvenience caused by this incident.

“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.”

An aircraft parking brake is also known as a hand brake or emergency brake. It is a critical safety feature that prevents an aircraft from moving when it’s parked.

It’s a lever in the cockpit that’s usually located near the main control panel or pedals.

The normal standard operating procedure states when an aircraft stops at a bay, the parking brake is set and then the engines are shut down.

Post that, the engineering staff puts aircraft choks (triangular blocks put in front and behind aircraft wheels) on. The parking brakes are released only after this.

However, in this case, the parking brake was not not set in the on position; the engines were shut down and the aircraft rolled back, said senior pilots. – Agencies