Over 100 people on board an Air India plane had a close shave when two tyres of the left landing gear of the aircraft deflated soon after it landed at the IGI airport in Delhi on Tuesday.
"Air India's Mumbai-Bhopal-Indore-Delhi flight (IC-133) with 100 passengers and six crew members landed at Delhi airport around 10.58 a.m and was taxiing towards the parking bay when engineers at the ground noticed two deflated tyres of the left landing gear and sparks emanating due to friction," an airline official said.
They then immediately informed the pilot and asked him to stop the Airbus-320 aircraft.
The crash fire tenders were immediately called in, which sprinkled water and foam to cool the aircraft's undercarriage in order to prevent any fire, he said, adding "all the passengers onboard are safe".
According to sources, there was no tyre burst as the pilot did not notice any unusual jerk. "The tyres got deflated after the aircraft had landed and while it was taxiing," they said.
However, the Civil Aviation Ministry claimed there was no breach of safety in the incident involving the Mumbai- Bhopal-Indore-Delhi flight (IC-133).
"Air India's Mumbai-Bhopal-Indore-Delhi flight landed at the Delhi airport around 10.58 a.m. and was taxiing towards the parking bay when engineers at the ground noticed two deflated tyres of the left landing gear and sparks emanating due to friction," an airline official said.
They immediately alerted the pilot about it and asked him to stop the Airbus-320 aircraft.
Crash fire tenders were immediately called in and they sprinkled water and foam to cool the plane's undercarriage to prevent any fire, he said, adding "all the passengers on board are safe".
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation would enquire into the incident, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said.
Maintaining that there was "no safety breach" in the incident, the spokesperson said it was "not an uncommon occurrence when day temperatures are high" and the tyres had "not burst" but "de-capped".
Airport sources said there was no tyre burst as the pilot did not notice any unusual jerk. The tyres got deflated after the aircraft landed and was taxiing to the parking bay, they added. PTI
