Kingfisher Airlines, the newest entrant in the industry, has alleged that its brand-new Airbus-320 that arrived just last week was "deliberately" damaged when a step-ladder used by its arch-rival Spicejet hit the plane's tail-fin, according to a complaint filed by the Vijay Mallya-owned carrier with the airport police.
The incident took place on Sunday evening at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi after Kingfisher's aircraft returned from its inaugural flight to Tirupati in Tamil Nadu.
A Spicejet tractor carrying a step-ladder passed by. As it reached near the plane, the vehicle apparently made a sharp turn causing the ladder to topple over and hit the tail-fin, airport sources said.
However, according to another version, the ladder fell on the tail-fin due to strong winds blowing across the airport that evening.
Kingfisher officials think it was not just an accident but part of a conspiracy to harm the airlines. The airport police is investigating the matter.
