Snag-hit Lufthansa plane makes emergency landing at IGIA

A Munich-bound Lufthansa Airlines flight from Delhi faced a technical glitch on Tuesday morning, following which it had to be cancelled. The passengers were then shifted to another plane for the journey.

The problem came to light when flight LH-763, scheduled to take off at 1.50am, moved towards the runway at the scheduled departure time. The pilot detected a snag in the brakes of the plane.

"The pilot then alerted the ATC and requested it to allow the plane to return to the parking bay. After this, the pilot was provided with a clear way and the plane was safely called back. Another aircraft was arranged for the fliers," a senior officer said. The plane was then attended to by the airline's technical experts.

In a similar incident on Monday, a Cochin-bound Air India (AI) flight had to make an emergency landing soon after its take-off from the Indira Gandi International Airport (IGIA). Officials said the flight engineers had failed to remove pins from the landing gear. Following the incident, the engineers concerned were taken off duty and an inquiry was initiated, officials said.

"With over 230 passengers onboard, AI 933, Delhi to Cochin to Dubai flight, took off from IGIA at 5.36am but was forced to return and make an emergency landing 40 minutes later after the pilot was unable to retract the wheels. After the plane returned, a technical team that attended to it found that the pins were still attached to the landing gear. Finally, the plane took off for Cochin at 9.56am, after a delay of four hours," a senior officer said.

The pins prevent accidental retraction of the landing gear while the aircraft is on the ground. If they are not removed before the take-off, however, the pilot cannot retract the wheels while the plane is in flight.