THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A full emergency was declared at the International Airport here on Friday after a Dammam-bound flight from Calicut was diverted to the state capital due to suspected hydraulic failure.
After two hours of mid-air scare, an Air India Express flight ( IX385) from Kozhikode to Dammam, with 176 passengers and six crew members on board, made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International airport.
According to officials it was a safe landing and no casualities were reported. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The aircraft had suffered a tail strike at the runway of Kozhikode airport while taking off around 9.45 am. It is also suspected that the hydraulic gear of the aircraft was damaged. In a statement issued here, the Air India Express, said that the flight made emergency landing due to technical issues.
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After dumping fuel into the sea from the sky near Vizhinjam, the aircraft safely landed at Thiruvananthapuram airport at 12.15 pm. The flight crew decided to land in Thiruvananthapuram as this airport is the safest airport for emergency landings in the state. Though they tried to land at Nedumbassery Airport in Kochi, the airport authorities informed the crew about difficulties for an emergency landing. Later, they decided to land at Thiruvananthapuram airport. The airport authorities cleared the runway in prior for safe landing of the aircraft.
After landing, the passengers were shifted to the transit lounge of the airport. The pasengers will later board another aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram to reach their destinations.
According to airport sources, a 'tail strike' occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft hits the ground or any other stationary object during takeoff or landing. Earlier on February 19, an Air India Express flight from Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram (Flight no. IX540) had made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport after the aircraft developed a technical snag in its nose wheel.
All 156 passengers on board the flight were safe. The Director General of Civil Aviation had ordered an investigation into the incident.