Mumbai: Passengers on an Air India flight were shocked to learn that they were back in the city from where they had boarded the flight. The aircraft had to return to Mumbai airport after its pilot found out, 30 minutes before the scheduled landing at the destination, that the plane’s wheels were not functioning. The incident occurred on October 15 in Air India flight 657, which took off at the scheduled departure time of 10 am and was supposed to reach Coimbatore at 11.50 am. Around 11.20 am, the pilot tried testing the landing equipment, and to his shock, found that the wheels weren’t unfolding and coming out. He immediately informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC). Full emergency was declared for the flight, but it couldn’t land at Coimbatore, since the airport didn’t have the necessary systems to deal with a full emergency. “Chennai airport was one of the options for the aircraft to land, but due to congestion, Chennai had to be dropped and Mumbai airport was alerted for full emergency,” said a crew member on the flight. Ground staff at the airport attributed the incident to hydraulic failure. When full emergency is declared at an airport, fire brigades, ambulances, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and airport as well as airline staff ready themselves for the landing of the aircraft.
17/10/14 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
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17/10/14 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
