Just seconds separated them from certain death

Had the pilot of AI aircraft gained V-2 range speed, emergency brakes would have failed and could've resulted in a huge disaster

Just seconds separated them from certain death

Had the pilot of AI aircraft gained V-2 range speed, emergency brakes would have failed and could've resulted in a huge disaster

It was a matter of seconds. This phrase has become so common that sometimes we don't realise the magnitude ofu00a0 death being only a few seconds away.

NEAR MISS: An Air India flight could have rammed into the helicopter (above) carrying President Pratibha Patil, guards and staff at Mumbai airport yesterday

Yesterday, this phrase came eerily true at Mumbai airport when an Air India (AI) aircraft carrying 148 people on board nearly missed ramming into two helicopters carrying President Pratibha Patil's guards and staff.

Aviation expert Vipul Saxena said that the AI pilot averted a massive disaster mainly because the aircraft was in the V-1 speed range between 80-100 nautical miles. This made it possible for him to apply emergency brakes.

"Had the aircraft ascended to V-2 speed (100-220 nautical miles), which takes only a few seconds, the emergency brakes could have failed and there could have been a mega disaster," said Saxena. V-2 speed is necessary to give the aircraft thrust for a take-off.

What happened

Lats morning, the two helicopters landed on the main active runway 27 while Patil herself landed in a Mi-17-type helicopter a few seconds later.

Luckily, Captain A S Kohli, the pilot of the Goa-Mumbai-Delhi Air India flight (IC 866), which was on the runway, applied emergency brakes and aborted the take-off.

Captain Kohli later said, "I was just preparing to take-off when the chopper suddenly appeared in front of the aircraft." Applying of the emergency brakes resulted in the aircraft tyre getting damaged.

'ATC's fault'

Saxena observed that the incident points to the lack of coordination in the functioning of Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Mumbai Airport According to him, once the presidential entourage was cleared to take off from INS Kunjali, no other clearances should have been issued.

"When the Mumbai Control Zone was occupied with handling the President's movement, no permission, not even to enter the runway, can be granted. Also the ATC controller was very well aware that the flying time between INS Kunjali and Mumbai Airport is so short (three to fouru00a0u00a0 minutes) that the take-off of any aircraft from the runway is practically impossible," added Saxena.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation also blamed the ATC. "The ATC Mumbai was aware of the President's visit and was watching the approach movement of the Presidential convoy of helicopters. The ATC, noticing movement of the aircraft on the runway, asked the aircraft to immediately apply breaks and exit through the taxiway," an e-mailed statement read.
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'It's like a rebirth'

Hitesh Solanki (36) believes he's been born again. Solanki was on board the Goa-Mumbai-Delhi flight that had to abort take-off after helicopters belonging to the Presidential entourage landed on the main runway.

An urban planner, Solanki was going to Delhi to attend meetings. "We could not figure out what was happening when the pilot applied the emergency brakes. It was only when the pilot made an announcement later that we got to know," said Solanki from his Thane home. He will now travel to Delhi today. "It's like a rebirth," he said referring to the fact that the aircraft did not tilt upon landing since it could have then caught fire and even exploded.

Prez in a jeep
The President was immediately taken away from her helicopter in a Follow Me jeep that is usually used to guide an aircraft to the parking bay. She was then taken to Gondia in an IAF plane

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