An Air India Express flight that left Calicut International Airport for Dammam in Saudi Arabia on Friday morning made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport following a suspected tail strike that subsequently led to problems in the hydraulic equipment of the aircraft, airport officials said.
The incident prompted authorities to declare a full emergency at Thiruvananthapuram (also known as Trivandrum) airport and the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) to order a probe into the matter.
All passengers and crew members onboard Air India Express flight IX 385 landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Officials said the fuel of the aircraft was dumped into the sea to facilitate a safe landing.
Upon inspection, minor damage was found on the aircraft and it took off later in the evening.
In a statement, the airline said: “There were 168 passengers on board, and the aircraft made a normal safe landing at Thiruvananthapuram at 12.15pm and passengers deplaned.”
A tail strike occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft strikes the ground. In case of any problem in the hydraulic equipment, a pilot will lose control of the airplane.
“We have ordered a probe into the matter,” DGCA director general Arun Kumar said.
According to the officials at Thiruvananthapuram airport, the tail of the aircraft hit the runway during takeoff at around 9.45am. “It led to some problems in the hydraulic equipment. The pilot realised his mistake and immediately diverted the aircraft to Thiruvananthapuram,” an official said, seeking anonymity.
The flight safely landed at 12.15pm.
A second official said the aircraft was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram as the airline has its maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility there.
“Officials feared that the tail strike may have led to serious damages, hence, Air India teams were sent to Trivandrum to check the aircraft. However, minor damage was found and the same aircraft took off for Dammam at 5.14pm,” the second official said.
According to news agency PTI, all the ambulances and the three crash fire tenders at the airport were ready and the emergency gates were opened. Ambulances from nearby hospitals and three buses carrying police also reached the airport as a precautionary measure.
“Initially, the flight was scheduled to land at 11.03am but later it was rescheduled to 12.15pm. At 11.36am, we declared full emergency at the airport and all the emergency services were pressed into action,” the airport authority said in a statement.
“…other flights operated normally,” it added.
The airport authority conducted a two-way inspection of the runway and later withdrew the emergency.