New Delhi/Bengaluru: Nearly 190 people on board a New Delhi-Bengaluru flight had a narrow escape when their flight suffered a tail strike during landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday. The incident took place when the Airbus A321 aborted a landing attempt and took off. The long fuselage’s tail scraped the runway during the going-around process. The aircraft came back to land in its second attempt and has now been grounded for checks. All passengers safely disembarked from the flight.
Cause of the Incident
Just before the Delhi flight was to land, a Boeing 747 had taken off from Bengaluru, causing ‘wake turbulence’. This is an effect caused by the take-off of a wide-body aircraft in the vicinity. Because of the unexpected on-ground turbulence, Air India pilots decided to go around at the last minute, leading to the tail-strike incident.
DGCA Investigation
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe into the incident and taken the Air India pilots off flying duty pending the investigation. To avoid smaller planes getting caught in the turbulence caused by bigger jets, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has prescribed a greater time separation for flights to land and take off. For Thursday’s situation, aviation authorities have prescribed a minimum separation of five nautical miles — roughly 10 kilometres — between a heavy plane and a ‘medium’ one.
Cancellation and Passenger Arrangements
Following the incident, the return Air India flight (AI2652) from Bengaluru to Delhi was cancelled. Arrangements were made to accommodate affected passengers.
