Flight hits compound wall at take-off, all passengers safe

Tiruchy: In a miraculous escape, 136 passengers and six crew members of a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight were left unscathed when the aircraft wheels breached the perimeter wall of the Tiruchy airport at the end of the runway, while it was taking off in the wee hours of Friday.

K. Gunasekaran, airport director told newsmen that around 0119 hours the flight commandant Capt. Ganeshkumar operating the aircraft, on its taking off process, hit and damaged the Instrument landing system (ILS), one runway end light (RWY 27), five numbers of ILS functional monitoring antennas and an ILS monitor controlled antenna, before the wheelbase of the aircraft crashed the compound wall very close to the Tiruchy-Pudukkottai national highway. That resulted in a small portion of the wall collapsing at two places and also damage to the fencing, he said.

Despite this, the aircraft flew towards Dubai and based on the information about the incident, the Air traffic Control (ATC) duty staff gave a note to Ariman (NOTAM) and also directed the pilot to come back for an emergency landing. The pilot told the ATC that they were safe and continuing their journey, as usual, he added.

Mr. Gunasekaran said they have recovered some tiny parts of the aircraft which has been confirmed by the technical staff of the Air India Express and the damaged portions were one of the VHF antenna, he added.

Realising the trouble and danger, the ATC alerted the Air Indian Express authorities and the Mumbai Airport. As per the Mumbai airport ATC's instruction, the aircraft, which was nearing Muscat, came to Mumbai and had an emergency landing at Mumbai Airport, he added.

The passengers of the aircraft came to know about this landing only after they were alighted from the aircraft at Mumbai Airport, he said.

Replying to a question, Mr. Gunasekaran said a probe team of the directorate general of civil aviation will hold an inquiry into the incident and only then the full details will be known.     

According to local residents residing near Tiruchy-Pudukkottai national highway, fortunately, when the aircraft crashed the compound wall, also very close to the National highway, there was no bus or lorry movement then; otherwise a major mishap could have taken place, the residents said.

Air India Express sources told DC that all the Dubai-bound passengers were sent to their destination by an alternative aircraft. Departures and arrivals of other aircraft from and to Tiruchy were not affected by this incident, sources added.

PRABHU ORDERS PROBE: (DC ADDS FROM DELHI):

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday ordered a high level enquiry into a serious incident on Friday when a Dubai-bound Air India Express aircraft's wheels hit a perimeter wall during take off at Trichy airport in Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Friday. In a major announcement, the Minister also said he had recently ordered “a third party professional organisation to look into various safety aspects” in national carrier Air India. A regular “safety compliance report” of all airlines will also be prepared by Government aviation agencies.

Air India has also “constituted a Sub-Committee of the Board headed by an Independent Director of the Board for looking at all safety related issues within the organisation including subsidiaries”, the minister said, adding that “DGCA officers are at site for preliminary inquiry and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau officers have also  been  deputed”. The Minister said safety of passengers is of “paramount importance”, adding that “growth can't be at the expeneof safety”. The pilots of the aircraft have been 'derostered' pending the investigation.