Mumbai, May 16 (PTI): An Air India aircraft’s nose gear collapsed today during inspection shortly before it was to fly to Dubai from Mumbai.

Four engineers — one in the cockpit and three on the ground — were inspecting the 15-year-old Boeing 777-200 (extended range) aircraft at the time. They were unhurt.

The aircraft was about to leave the parking bay to pick up passengers when the accident happened. “The nose gear failed prior to position of the aircraft for boarding,” an airline spokesperson said.

This is the second close shave involving an Air India plane in Mumbai in two days.

Yesterday, a Chennai-bound Airbus A320 had started moving towards the runway for take-off before the aerobridge could be detached. The push-back vehicle, which takes the aircraft towards the runway, had started early, sources said.

“The incident happened because of miscommunication between the pilot and the push-back vehicle. Had the passengers been boarding the plane, there could have been some damage,” a source said.

All 90 passengers had boarded but there was no damage either to the aircraft or the aerobridge, the sources added.

The flight was delayed by over four hours. The same aircraft took off with 90 passengers after engineers cleared it.

An Air India spokesperson described this as a minor incident and said an inquiry was on.

Today’s flight to Dubai was delayed by over an hour. An alternative aircraft was made available and it took off at 4pm.

The damaged plane, leased by the airline, was towed away for repairs.