Air India Express flight safely lands in Trichy after mid-air snag
13 Oct 2024 7:42 AM IST
Passengers unaware of ground panic
Air India flight after it landed safely following a mid-air glitch, at the Trichy Airport. (PTI Photo)
Chennai: The 141 passengers of The Air India Express flight to Sharjah that kept Tamil Nadu on tenterhooks on Friday night as it was encircling Trichy, the city of its origin, for about two hours due a technical snag, had no clue about the aircraft not heading to their destination and the anxiety that it had caused in the ground with their relatives and friends waiting with their hearts in their mouth.
Reporters at Trichy, who were on their toes after the news broke about a hydraulic failure in the wheel carriage that had forced the pilot to plan his return but after expending the fuel in the tank, were told by the passengers, as they came out of the aircraft, that they did not know about the tension on the ground and that 20 ambulances and 18 fire tenders were waiting at the airport, anticipating an emergency situation.
Though some regular fliers on the Trichy-Sharjah route had some doubts as they did not see the sea below them some time after take off and also because a light was flickering for a long time, the airline crew informed them of ‘a snag’ and that they were returning to Trichy only about 15 minutes before landing.
Of the 141 passengers about 40 to 50 of them did not want to continue the journey to Sharjah though Air India had arranged for an alternative aircraft to take them to their destination, while the rest boarded the flight that came from Thiruvananthapuram at around 3 am and reached Sharjah.
On Friday, the pilot had realized the snag soon after takeoff when the wheel carriage failed to retract and informed the Air Traffic Control of his decision to return to base. But since landing with a faulty wheel carriage was risky, emergency services were called for.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, after the safe landing of the aircraft at around 8.30 pm, put out a message on his X page: ‘Upon receiving news of the landing gear issue, I immediately coordinated an emergency meeting with officials over the phone and instructed them to implement all necessary safety measures, including deployment of fire engines, ambulances and medical assistance.’
However, the aircraft made a smooth landing without the passengers on board knowing about the panic and hullaballoo the flight hovering over Trichy had created on the ground. Villagers in the localities around the airport, however, were initially intrigued when they saw a particular flight flying over them repeatedly until television news channels broke the news of the snag-hit flight in the sky.
The passengers who did not board the alternative flight to Sharjah will be eligible to book on any Air India Express flight of their choice in future to undertake the journey from Trichy.
Governor R N Ravi thanked the 'Captain and the co-pilot for the smooth landing of flight IX613'. In his X message, he said, 'the courage and calm professionalism of the cockpit and cabin crew truly shone during this trying and tense moment.'
Reporters at Trichy, who were on their toes after the news broke about a hydraulic failure in the wheel carriage that had forced the pilot to plan his return but after expending the fuel in the tank, were told by the passengers, as they came out of the aircraft, that they did not know about the tension on the ground and that 20 ambulances and 18 fire tenders were waiting at the airport, anticipating an emergency situation.
Though some regular fliers on the Trichy-Sharjah route had some doubts as they did not see the sea below them some time after take off and also because a light was flickering for a long time, the airline crew informed them of ‘a snag’ and that they were returning to Trichy only about 15 minutes before landing.
Of the 141 passengers about 40 to 50 of them did not want to continue the journey to Sharjah though Air India had arranged for an alternative aircraft to take them to their destination, while the rest boarded the flight that came from Thiruvananthapuram at around 3 am and reached Sharjah.
On Friday, the pilot had realized the snag soon after takeoff when the wheel carriage failed to retract and informed the Air Traffic Control of his decision to return to base. But since landing with a faulty wheel carriage was risky, emergency services were called for.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, after the safe landing of the aircraft at around 8.30 pm, put out a message on his X page: ‘Upon receiving news of the landing gear issue, I immediately coordinated an emergency meeting with officials over the phone and instructed them to implement all necessary safety measures, including deployment of fire engines, ambulances and medical assistance.’
However, the aircraft made a smooth landing without the passengers on board knowing about the panic and hullaballoo the flight hovering over Trichy had created on the ground. Villagers in the localities around the airport, however, were initially intrigued when they saw a particular flight flying over them repeatedly until television news channels broke the news of the snag-hit flight in the sky.
The passengers who did not board the alternative flight to Sharjah will be eligible to book on any Air India Express flight of their choice in future to undertake the journey from Trichy.
Governor R N Ravi thanked the 'Captain and the co-pilot for the smooth landing of flight IX613'. In his X message, he said, 'the courage and calm professionalism of the cockpit and cabin crew truly shone during this trying and tense moment.'
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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