When an Air India pilot flew his B737 into a brick wall while taking off on an overnight international flight to Dubai he saw no reason to turn back and decided to press on to the destination.
The jet, carrying 130 passengers, slammed into the top of a two-metre perimeter wall and demolished a guide tower as it climbed out of Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu, India, the Times of India reported.
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“We informed the pilot about the hit,” the Tiruchirappalli airport director told the IANS news service.
The director added that teams found parts of the plane on the ground.
Reports suggest the pilot was unaware that Air India Express flight AXB611 had torn a gaping gash along the bottom of its fuselage and had collected a length of wire mesh fencing wrapped around its landing gear.
The plane flew across India and headed out over the Indian Ocean towards Dubai, continuing happily for “about two hours” before someone in authority on the ground suggested strongly that the flight turn back. The pilot complied “as a precautionary measure”.
The flight diverted to Mumbai and landed safely about four hours after takeoff, according to a report of the incident in the Montreal Gazette.
Passengers transferred to other flights and ground crew conducted an inspection.
The pilot and co-pilot have reportedly been grounded pending a review. India’s minister of commerce, industry and civil aviation, Suresh Prabhu, is said to have ordered a third-party investigation into “various safety aspects” following the incident.
MEANWHILE, in another bizarre mishap concerning Air India, a flight attendant has fallen out of one of the airline’s B777-300s. The plane was at the gate preparing to depart Mumbai for Delhi when one of the cabin crew fell from the aircraft while attempting to close one of the doors.
The attendant, aged 53, landed on the tarmac and was rushed to hospital with serious leg injuries, the Aviation Herald reported. The accident delayed the flight by 75 minutes.
An investigation has begun.
Written by Peter Needham
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