Civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the flying licence of two Jet Airways pilots for attempting to take off an aircraft from a taxiway parallel to the runway at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia last week.
Officials said that there were 148 people on board the Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight when the incident took place last week. Air-passengers escaped unhurt after the aircraft went off the runway following an aborted take off from there on August 3.
About the incident, the DGCA had earlier said that the pilots aborted the take off after they were informed about a ‘barrier’ on the runway. The aircraft was taxing at 100 knots. It veered off the runway due to sudden stopping, the official had said.
On Monday, a DGCA official said that the regulator has suspended flying licence of both the pilots involved in runway excursion incident at Riyadh and investigation is in progress.
Officials also explained that a taxiway is a strip that links terminals, parking bays, runways and other facilities at an airport.
Earlier, Saudi Aviation Investigation Bureau in a release said the aircraft aborted taking off on a taxiway that ran parallel to the runway. Jet Airways Boeing B737, VTJFS aircraft heading to Mumbai with 141 passengers and seven crew members overshoot taxiway at the King Khalid International Airport, it said.
“Initial factual information confirmed that the aircraft attempted to take off from taxiway (K) parallel to take off designated runway (R33) while the visibility was high and there was no obstacle of FOD (foreign object) on the taxiway,” it said.
Saudi AIB said that it is also conducting a safety probe along with its Indian counterpart adding that the aircraft accelerated with full takeoff power and exceeded the taxiway onto an unpaved area.
Jet Airways in a tweet said on August 3 that its Mumbai-bound flight had aborted the takeoff and veered off the runway at Riyadh airport, but the airline had not specified any reason for it.