THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Dammam-bound flight from Kozhikode was diverted to the Thiruvananthapuram airport due to a suspected tail strike during takeoff on Friday. After two hours of mid-air scare, Air India Express flight (IX385), with 176 passengers and six crew members on board, made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. A full emergency was declared at the airport which was withdrawn following the safe landing of the flight.
According to the officials, the landing was safe and no casualties were reported. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The flight was repaired at the hangar unit facility at the airport and left for Dammam around 5.15pm. The aircraft suffered a tail strike at the runway of Kozhikode airport while taking off around 9.45am. It is also suspected that the hydraulic gear of the aircraft was damaged. In a statement, Air India Express said the flight made an emergency landing due to technical issues. A detailed report has been sought from the pilot by the aircraft management.
After dumping some amount of fuel into the sea from the sky near Vizhinjam to reduce the fuel weight for around an hour, the aircraft safely landed at 12.15 pm. The crew decided to land at Thiruvananthapuram airport as it is the safest airport for emergency landing in the state. Though they tried to land at the Kochi airport, the authorities informed the crew about the difficulties of an emergency landing there.
Airport sources said a ‘tail strike’ occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft hits the ground or any other stationary object during takeoff or landing. Meanwhile, there are also reports that it was a fault on the part of the pilot. Hence, the flight took off to Dammam with a different pilot.