NEW DELHI: In the second instance of a hydraulics glitch on board an Air India flight within 10 days, pilots of an A320 flight from Bangkok to New Delhi were forced to abort the takeoff on Thursday (August 13) evening when they detected the malfunction while taxiing to the runway at the Bangkok airport. The pilot announced it over the public address system to keep the fliers in the loop.
An airline source conceded “a hydraulic malfunction” took place on Flight AI 2335 but added that the pilot was not supposed to announce it.
On August 4, a cruising A320 Phuket-Delhi flight suffered three hydraulic failures within two seconds. It led to a steep descent resulting in injuries to 24 flyers, the initial analysis report of Airbus revealed.
A hydraulic malfunction refers to a loss of pressurised fluid power used to move flight controls, landing gear, brakes, or in some cases, a total shutdown of the equipment.
The AI 2335, with over 250 passengers, was scheduled to take off at 6.25 pm Bangkok time (4.55 pm IST) on Thursday. It finally took off at 7 pm local time on Friday.
Rajiv Gambhir, a Delhi-based businessman, who also owns an aircraft, told this paper, “The flight was moving for take-off when we heard a loud screeching halt. The pilot announced there was a hydraulic failure. It worried us.” The flight was left standing on one of the side bays near the runway. P8
