New Delhi (Sputnik): An Air India flight with 136 persons on board hit a compound wall in Trichy before takeoff. After airport officials informed the pilot in command about the damage, he responded by saying that that the aircraft systems were operating normally. The badly damaged plane, later, diverted to Mumbai, which is around 690 miles away from the site of the accident. The accident took place on Thursday morning at about 1:30 AM (Indian Standard Time).
"All 130 passengers and 6 crew members on board the Aircraft were alighted safely. No one suffered any injuries," an Air India release reads.
Another official in Delhi informed that the aircraft's wheels had hit the wall and it is looking into whether a technical snag or pilot error led to the incident.
Looks like Air India Express plane would have been badly damaged. The flight was going to Dubai from Trichy. In Mangalore crash it was coming from Dubai. All good thankfully. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/srWgaltY3w
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) October 12, 2018
"The pilot in command was Capt. D. Ganesh Babu who has flying experience on the B 737 aircraft of 3600 hours including about 500 hours as Commander. The First Officer was Capt. Anurag who has an experience of about 3000 hours on the B 737. The two pilots have been de-rostered pending investigation," the airlines added.
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Recently, Suresh Prabhu, India's minister of civil aviation, ordered to put in place a third party professional organization to look into various safety aspects of the aviation industry. In order to have continuous attention towards air safety, the ministry has also ordered concerned officials to put in place a regular "safety compliance report" of all airlines.
"Safety of the passengers is of paramount importance for us. We will take all that's required to put the safety on top of aviation agenda. Growth can't be at the expense of safety," Suresh Prabhu said after the accident.
On October 8, the engine of an IndiGo A320 neo aircraft failed mid-air, forcing the plane to return to Bangalore. IndiGo has been facing problems with Pratt & Whitney engines powering its A320 neo aircraft.
On September 19, Jet Airways crew forgot to turn on the so-called "bleed switch," resulting in a drop in cabin pressure that caused headaches and caused passengers to bleed from their noses and ears.
Also in September, an Air India aircraft landed on the wrong runway, which was under-construction, posing a threat to the lives of 136 passengers and four crew members on board.
