The 27-year old Beech King Air C-90A aircraft that crash landed on Tuesday lost both its engines within a matter of minutes, an unusual incident according to aviation experts.
The plane had earlier in the day left Delhi for Patna, from where it picked up a patient and was on its way back to Delhi when the incident happened, just 10 km from IGIA.
“The pilot first informed the Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) that one of the engines of the aircraft had stopped working at around 2.20 p.m. and requested an emergency landing,” said a senior ATC official.
“The ATC gave the permission and prepared for a priority landing. The pilot was in constant touch with the ATC and was scheduled to land at runway 10,” he said.
A miracle
At around 2.30 p.m., however, the pilot informed the ATC that the aircraft had lost its second engine too.
Moments later, the pilot crash landed the aircraft on a agricultural field in Kair village in Najafgarh area.
“The aircraft was on the radar till the last moment even though the VHF (radio) contact was lost,” he said. “It’s a miracle that everyone on board is safe and that the aircraft didn’t catch fire,” he said.
The aircraft, with registration number VT-EQO, was manufactured in 1989, but registered with the Chandigarh-based Alchemist Airways in 2001. The chartered plane operator has a fleet that includes two Beech King Air C-90A aircraft and a Gulf Stream G2 Jet, apart from some single-engine aircraft.
Wait for probe
“The crash landing was miraculous as the aircraft hit the ground with its nose down, the result could have been catastrophic. Prima facie, it appears the plane wasn’t carrying much fuel though that will be established once the probe is over,” said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which has initiated a probe.
The final investigation will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. “It is very unusual for an aircraft to lose both engines at the same time, but what went wrong would be clear only after the Flight Data Recorder of the aircraft is analysed,” he said.
