16 June,2010 07:34 AM IST | | Surender Sharma
Close shave for passengers at Delhi airport
It's not always human error that is to be blamed; at times it's nature that brings trouble.
If Air India officials are to be believed, the reason why two tyres of the plane, which had 100 passengers and six crew members on board, got de-capped while landing at the Delhi airport was due to high temperature in the Capital.
"It seems Tuesday's incident occurred due to overheating. So far no human error or any problem with the aircraft has been detected in the case," said an Air India official, wishing anonymity.
Two tyres of the left landing gear of an Air India aircraft deflated soon after it landed at the IGI airport on Tuesday morning in Delhi.
"Air India's Mumbai-Bhopal-Indore-Delhi flight landed at the Delhi airport around 10.58 a.m. and was taxiing towards the parking bay when engineers at the ground noticed two deflated tyres of the left landing gear and sparks emanating due to friction," an airline official said.
"They immediately alerted the pilot about it and asked him to stop the Airbus-320 aircraft. Crash fire tenders were immediately called in and they sprinkled water and foam to cool the plane's undercarriage to prevent any fire. The passengers on board are all safe," said an airline spokesperson.
The Civil Aviation Ministry also stated that there was no breach of safety in the incident involving Mumbai- Bhopal-Indore-Delhi flight (IC-133).
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered enquiry into the incident. "It isn't an uncommon occurrence when day temperatures are high and the tyres had not burst, but got de-capped," said the ministry spokesperson.
Airport sources, too, claimed there was no burst in tyres, as the pilot did not notice any unusual jerk. The tyres got deflated after the aircraft landed and was taxiing to the parking bay.
The average temperature at the Delhi airport has remained over 35 degrees this season.
