A New Delhi-bound Air India flight came to a standstill before take-off from the North Runway of the Bengaluru airport due to jamming of a wheel brake. The passengers were deboarded and AI 505 took off five and half hours later when the problem was resolved.
The flight was supposed to depart from Kempegowda International Airport from Runway 27R at 10.25 am. While no one was able to give details on the number of passengers on board, a source said the rough estimate could be around 200 as it was a widebody aircraft.
According to a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, "The Bengaluru-Delhi flight got brake binding on wheel number 5 when the aircraft was lining for runway 27R. The flight was left on the runway. Due to this, no arrivals possible on runway 27R. However, departures taking off on 27R from an A4 intersection."
In a statement, a BIAL spokesperson said, "On September 18, a Delhi-bound Air India flight developed a technical issue while taxiing to the runway. There was no impact on the operations as the South Runway was used to ensure smooth operations."
Elaborating on the incident, a reliable source said, "The brake apparatus that is present in all wheels got jammed in one of the wheels of the flight. The aircraft cannot move once this happens. So, all passengers had to be deboarded and the issue was examined. However, after the initial effort the problen recurred before takeoff. Hence, it was set right again and the flight finally took off at 3.45 pm."
He added that incidents of brakes in wheels getting affected happens very rarely.
Air India was unavailable for comment.