A stepladder crashed into a JetLite aircraft standing in the parking bay of the city airport on Thursday morning.

Twenty-five passengers were on board the Boeing 737 when the mishap occurred but none was injured. The driver of the tractor that was manoeuvring the ladder, which is fixed to an aircraft’s door for passengers to get on or off, has been suspended.

A spokesperson for Jet Airways, which owns Jetlite, said an inquiry had been ordered into the mishap.

“The tractor had pulled the ladder close to the aircraft. But while turning in order to attach the ladder to the rear door, the driver apparently made a mistake and the ladder hit the aircraft near the tail,” said a Jet official.

“The plane, which suffered damage on the surface, was taken to the maintenance hangar. Technical experts are trying to find out whether any part within the aircraft was damaged,” the official added.

The Guwahati-Calcutta-Mumbai flight carrying 160 passengers arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport around 9.20am. Sources said there was no problem in fixing the ladder to the aircraft’s door for the city-bound passengers to disembark.

“It was when the ladder was being fixed for the second time for the 140-odd Mumbai-bound fliers from Calcutta to get on the aircraft that the mishap occurred,” said a source.

“The flight had a rough landing in Calcutta. We were sitting on board the aircraft waiting for others to join when there was a sudden jerk,” said Faizal Ansari, an Assam resident flying to Mumbai for his daughter’s treatment.

“We panicked and enquired with the airline officials but they did not reply. After a few moments the crew said the aircraft had met with an accident and that we would have to disembark,” recalled Ansari.

He alleged the airline had reneged on its promise to fly the stranded passengers to Mumbai on an “standby aircraft” within half an hour. “I had to wait till the afternoon before I could board a flight to Mumbai,” said Ansari.

“All passengers could not be accommodated on the alternative flight. Some had to be taken on other flights as well,” said an airline official.

Sources said the driver of the tractor was supplied by a private agency. “The personnel engaged for driving tractors and other airline vehicles are employees of outsourced agencies. Although they undergo extensive training for working in high-risk zones such as the tarmac, they are not always up to the job,” said an airport official.

Airport sources said the JetLite aircraft would be allowed to fly again after it got an air-worthy certificate from the directorate general of civil aviation. “Even if there is a minor damage, it is mandatory for the airline to get the aircraft tested by the directorate general of civil aviation,” an airport official said.

In March, a Calcutta-bound ATR aircraft taxiing at Jorhat airport hit another plane parked on the apron, smashing its own anti-collision light. The ATR passengers were flown off by the other plane which was not damaged.