A Dubai-bound flight had overshot the runway at the Trichy airport.
Air India has roped in technical experts to investigate the incident that happened on Friday at the Trichy airport in Tamil Nadu where a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight IX611 overshot the runway, severely hurting its underbelly and some parts of the flight’s engine during its take-off.
Senior officials at Air India have said that the incident was somewhat “abnormal” and is something very rare.
A senior Air India official said: “We have launched an investigation into this matter. The airline has also engaged experts to understand how this incident took place and none of the airline’s control system got affected despite such a massive bang. The pilots flying the aircraft were experienced, having several hours of flying time in their record. The pilots have been grounded till a further investigation into the matter is completed.”
Air India Express flight IX611 was taking off from Trichy airport when this incident occurred and the flight overshot the runway. The aircraft was at a speed of 250-270 km per hour during the take-off and it hit the boundary wall of the airport, which caused massive damage to the aircraft as well as the wall of the airport.
“It is shocking that despite the flight overshooting the runway and hurting its underbelly, the aircraft flew for four hours without any indication to the pilots. The pilots have said that all the systems in the flight were working normally. It was only after ATC (Air Traffic Control) officials brought the incident to the notice of the pilots that the flight was brought back to Mumbai. When the pilots were informed about the incident, the aircraft was over the Arabian Sea flying towards Dubai,” the senior Air India official said.
The aircraft with 130 passengers and six crew members on board landed safely at the Mumbai airport. The passengers of the flight were moved to Dubai in another flight from Mumbai. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also launched a probe into the matter.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has asked ministry officials to conduct a high-level inquiry into the matter.