Jet Airways plane's nose wheel breaks

The nose wheel of a Jet Airways plane broke at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Wednesday evening, leading to the closure of runway 29-11 for nearly two hours. The incident led to a backlog in departure and arrival of flights as only two runways remained operational at the country's busiest airport.

The incident took place around 4.45 pm, when the Jet Airways plane that had landed at the runway suddenly came to a halt with a jerk. The passengers were alighted and the aircraft was towed away to a bay, where it was attended to by the airline's experts. The airport witnessed overcrowding and delayed flights following the incident. Immediate measures, however, were taken to tackle the problem.

"Flights that had priority were given the landing clearance first and the departures were accordingly delayed. It took 3-4 hours to clear the backlog of the departing flights," the officer said.

"Delhi airport handles huge traffic and has three runways, all of which are used simultaneously. One runway shutting down means its operations have to be shifted to the other two. In such a situation, a backlog occurs. The runway was cleared after nearly two hours, around 6.50 pm," an officer said.

Despite repeated attempts, Jet Airways representatives could not be contacted for comments.