DGCA orders safety audit after charter plane makes emergency belly landing in Mumbai

A chartered plane carrying five people, including a patient and a doctor, landed on its belly at Mumbai airport after declaring a full emergency, with the airport authorities foaming the runway to avoid the plane catching fire, in Mumbai, Thursday night, May 6, 2021.

The DGCA has ordered a complete safety audit of charter aircraft operator Jet Serve Aviation, a day after one of its planes was involved in an emergency belly landing at Mumbai airport.

A separate inquiry into the incident will also be conducted.

"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct an enquiry as prima facie there is substantive damage to the aircraft," a DGCA official said.

On Thursday, a Beechcraft King Air C90 plane operating as an air ambulance was forced to make a belly landing at Mumbai airport after one of its wheels fell off while taking off from Nagpur airport.

There were no injuries reported. There were a total of five people onboard, including a patient, a relative and a doctor.

A full emergency was declared as the aircraft was landing and Mumbai airport's emergency response team, including the fire and rescue responders were on standby as the aircraft arrived in Mumbai. The fire-fighting team foamed the runway 27 and prevented the aircraft from catching fire.