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ShareWorkers conducting repairs at the intersection of the cross-runway at the city airport on Tuesday afternoon got the shock of their lives. A GoAir flight almost "grazed" them, passing just 50 feet over the ground as it came in for landing. They were still shivering, when the plane once again came too close to the ground, almost skimming the repair site.
It was a close shave for both the passengers aboard the aircraft and the workers at the site. The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) ordered an inquiry. GoAir derostered the pilot till the completion of the probe.
At 3.40 pm on November 3, the New Delhi-Mumbai flight G8 105, an Airbus 320 with more than 154 passengers on board, was coming in to land at the airport. Because of the repair work at the intersection of cross-runways 09-27 and 14-32, a shortened stretch of 1,700 metre on the western end of runway 27 was being used for takeoff and touch down by smaller planes, such as ATRs, A319s and A320s.
"The pilot of the flight was an expatriate. When he was given the permission to land by the air traffic control (ATC), he strangely headed for the eastern end of the runway, where there were heavy machineries and around 60 workers at the repair site," an official from Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial) said. "The plane was just 50 foot over the site when the ATC asked the pilot to abort landing and do a go-around."
The workers panicked. After the go-around, the pilot was again given the permission to land. Again, he made the same mistake. And again, he was told to do a go-around. It was 4.05 pm when the plane finally landed safely on the short runway.
A spokesperson for GoAir confirmed the incident. "GoAir flight G8 105, carrying 154 passengers, circled runway 27 at Mumbai airport twice on November 3. The decision to go-around by the pilot was a proactive and a conscious decision taken to be on the safe side. In order to expedite the investigation process by the pilot's continued availability, the pilot has been derostered. "
