The Boeing 747-400 flying from Delhi to Frankfurt was forced to make an emergency landing in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon after two of its tyres were destroyed.
MUMBAI: An Air-India Boeing 747-400 flying from Delhi to Frankfurt was forced to make an emergency landing in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon after two of its tyres were destroyed.
Flight AI-137 took off with 284 passengers and a crew of 20 from Delhi airport at 10.50am. At the time there was no inkling of any problem with the aircraft. But an hour later personnel at Delhi airport noticed pieces of rubber stuck to the tarmac. There was a hurried search to locate the aircraft that had suffered the damage and air traffic control determined that it was Flight AI-137.
By then the plane had crossed the border into Pakistan and was flying over Karachi. The Delhi ATC alerted the pilots that two of the aircraft’s right-hand tyres had been worn out to the rim.
A decision was immediately taken to divert the flight to Mumbai, where Air-India has its service base, and repair the damage, and a request for an emergency landing was sent to the Mumbai ATC.
There was panic among the passengers when the pilot announced what had happened and told them to be prepared for an emergency landing. “I was scared to death,” recalled Joseph Menezes, a Portuguese national in his fifties. “Though we were comforted by the pilot, the crew going through the emergency drill drained my energy. My family members were the first ones I remembered.”
The crew made several announcements to comfort passengers. But it was still going to be a tense hour until the flight reached Mumbai.
In Mumbai, there was a flurry of activity to prepare for the emergency. Though such situations are not unknown for ATC personnel, a shiver of anticipation ran down their spines.
A close watch was kept on the approaching aircraft. “When the flight was 30 minutes away, we declared it an emergency landing,” an ATC official said.
Instructions flew out to the fire control, apron control, and security staff on the description of the emergency and the position of the aircraft. Three tractors were kept ready to tow away the damaged aircraft. The fire brigade also prepared to deal with any crisis. Eight fire engines were parked parallel to the runway. The runway was inspected and cleared of all possible obstacles. All departures and arrivals were stalled 15 minutes before the landing.
There was one more hitch. In an emergency, pilots are advised to get rid of any disposable excess weight to ensure the least amount of damage to the aircraft or passengers during a crash landing. And Flight AI-137 was carrying a full load of fuel for the long haul to Frankfurt. The excess fuel had to be offloaded first.
The procedure was carried out over the Arabian Sea. Almost 60 tons of aviation turbine fuel worth Rs40 lakh was dumped into the waters. Thereafter the plane proceeded to Mumbai airport where it made a safe landing at 2.05pm. There was a thud and some emission of smoke from the almost tyre-less rims but no real alarm. The fire engines escorted the plane as it rolled along the runway and onto the taxiway. Later, technicians arrived to inspect the damage.
The passengers have been lodged in various star hotels around the airport until early on Monday. They will be flying for Frankfurt by another Boeing flight at 5am on Monday.
This is the second time such an incident has occurred with the same aircraft. “An enquiry will be conducted by the air safety committee,” an Air-India spokesman said.
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