Mumbai: A Mumbai-Bangkok Jet Airways flight with 180 passengers on board suffered a tail strike during take-off at Mumbai international airport on Friday, forcing it to return in the interest of safety.
Officials said the pilot informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the aircraft was suspected of having experienced a tail strike after a sound was heard. In a statement, a Jet Airways spokesperson said, “Acting proactively in the interest of safety, the crew of Jet Airways flight 9W 70, Mumbai to Bangkok of May 12, 2017 executed an air turn back to Mumbai on account of a ‘suspected’ tail strike.”
In a tail strike, the rear empennage of an aircraft strikes the runway. This happens during take-off if the pilot pulls up too rapidly, leading to the rear end of the fuselage touching the runway.
After the aircraft landed safely at Mumbai, all 180 guests and eight crew members deplaned and were taken to the terminal building till alternate flight arrangements were made. After inspecting the aircraft in its hangar, the Jet Airways engineering team and ground personnel confirmed a tail strike. “After they confirmed a tail strike, a small component was replaced and the aircraft was released to fly,” an airline official said.
This is the third incident of a tail strike involving a Jet Airways plane this year. On January 22, the airline reported a tail strike when its Mumbai-Dhaka flight was landing in the Bangladesh capital. The Civil Aviation Ministry later ordered the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to probe this serious incident. A report is still awaited.
