Jet pilot hit by bus on tarmac in Guwahati

A jet Airways pilot sustained serious injuries after being run over by an Air Sahara bus at the Guwahati airport on Monday. The pilot, Captain AK Chadha, was walking on the tarmac on his way to the Air Traffic Control tower to get clearance to fly.

A jet Airways pilot sustained serious injuries after being run over by an Air Sahara bus at the Guwahati airport on Monday. The pilot, Captain AK Chadha, was walking on the tarmac on his way to the Air Traffic Control tower to get clearance to fly. He was to fly Flight 9W 601, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, from Guwahati to Delhi via Bagdogra.

As the pilot passed the stationary Air Sahara bus, the driver suddenly started the vehicle and ran him over. “The pilot was dragged for around 2-3 feet under the front tyres of the bus. By the time an alarm could be raised, the pilot had suffered serious injuries,” a source told The Indian Express. Chadha was taken to a nursing home in Guwahati where doctors confirmed that he had sustained a pelvic bone fracture.

The driver of the bus, meanwhile, was taken into custody by CISF and the local police. A case was also registered against him for negligent driving. He was reportedly bailed out later.

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Chadha was flown to Delhi on a Jet Airways flight in the afternoon after the airline summoned its own doctor and stretcher from Delhi. He was admitted to a Delhi hospital where doctors said he would take 4-6 weeks to recover.

When contacted Jet Airways confirmed the incident but declined to make any comments. Air Sahara, when approached for a comment, said, “It was an accident. The pilot was standing near the right side of the bus. As the bus passed him by, he fell. However, we took care of all the hospital expenses at Guwahati,” an Air Sahara spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further said the driver of the bus was a contractual worker with the airline and not a regular employee and that he was not overspeeding and had rejoined work.