Passengers onboard an Airbus A 320 had a miraculous escape when the aircraft veered off the runway while landing, hitting the edge lights, before stopping at the Bangalore International Airport on Thursday night.
Though no one was injured in the incident, authorities had to suspend air operations for more than two hours leading to a massive disruption of air travel across the country. Airport authorities said there were 110 passengers and six crew members on the Indigo Airlines (6E 125) on Bangalore-Delhi sector. The flight landed on runway 27 amidst heavy rains and downpour at 8.10 pm. “The aircraft landed in heavy rains on the right of the centre of the runway and veered to the right causing damage to five edge lights,” an airport spokesperson said.
The wheels on the landing gear underneath the right wing were deflated under the impact. The aircraft was later taxied off the runway onto taxi track “Foxtrot” and stopped. The passengers and the crew disembarked after getting necessary approval and were offered food and beverages.
The incident has been reported to the Director General of Civil Aviation. “Both DGCA and airlines would be conducting enquiry. We will also be undertaking maintenance check on the aircraft, which will be grounded till then.”
“The runway was immediately shut after the incident and the ground staff started working on repairing the lights,” a Bangalore International Airport spokesperson said.
The airport sources said that the incident occurred during the peak time for international arrivals, causing inconvenience to passengers besides several passengers who had arrived for departures were also stranded. At least 10 flights that were arriving were diverted and 15 others delayed while 9 flights departing from Bangalore were delayed.
Social media networks were agog with passengers tweeting to express their concern about missing their connecting flights.
One of the twitter users was wondering whether she would be able to catch her connecting flight to reach New York.
Flights diverted to Chennai
Chennai Staff Reporter reports:
Sixteen flights that had to arrive at Bangalore from Delhi, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Kochi and Hyderabad were diverted to Chennai late on Thursday as the runway had been closed, said officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI). As of 11.45 p.m. on Thursday, four of the 16 flights departed to Bangalore and the rest of them would leave one after another, they added.