Towing miscalculation dents planes at Naia

An alleged miscalculation by an aircraft tow officer caused the flight delay of two international airlines, Qatar Airlines and Delta Air, after midnight Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 1, a report said.

According to the report by Andro Laxina, the ramp security officer on duty,  at around 12:43 a.m., the wing tip of the Qatar airplane which was moving backwards from bay 15 hit the wing tip of the Delta Air parked at bay 14.

The incident caused the delay of the scheduled departure of the two aircraft.

In his report, Laxina said “apparently the aircraft tractor operator miscalculated the distance between the two aircraft that caused the minor scratch to the Qatar plane wing tip and dented the wing tip of Delta Air.”

The report did not identify the ground personnel involved in the towing miscalculation.

The report indicated that the Qatar Airlines plane bound for Chicago was preparing to take off and has “commencing pushback” when the incident happened.

No one was reported hurt in the incident.

Airport records also showed that the Qatar Airlines plane was allowed to depart hours later, at around 4:50 a.m. after the aircraft was cleared by safety personnel.

The Delta Airlines flight, bound for Narita, Japan was also delayed, but due to bad weather.