Damaged plane pilots assigned 'other duties'

The captain, the first officer and the marshal involved in the Airbus A320 collision at the airport have been assigned "other duties" pending investigations, sources said.

The plane, with 27 passengers on board, hit a pylon as it was taxiing out of a parking bay before a flight to Catania. No one was injured but a wing was severely damaged and there was fuel spillage.

The sources said the captain is Maltese.

Investigators are looking into the sequence of events on Monday and the procedures that were followed.

Particular focus is being placed on whether the plane should have been moving on its own power or towed and whether it should have been carrying passengers in that area.

The pylon collapsed and ended up on the aircraft fuselage as a result of the collision which occurred as the plane was being manoeuvred between a Malta Air Charter helicopter and an Azzurra Air aircraft.

The damage to the plane was described as extensive and it may even be uneconomical to repair.

Air Malta claimed yesterday that the media reports on the incident were "based totally on speculation" and did not in any way reflect the airline's official position.

"Air Malta has set up a board of inquiry to establish the facts that have led to this incident. The board is at present compiling all relevant information and the airline will make an official statement once the inquiry is concluded" it said.