Miss Alone
Prime VIP
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded two pilots of Jet Airways for allegedly flying too low after taking off from London Heathrow Airport for Mumbai on August 30. The Boeing 777 had an "unsafe altitude," said a senior DGCA official, while crossing the airport boundary wall. The low flying seriously compromised flight safety and passengers had a close shave.
The episode came to light as people living near Heathrow complained about the low-flying plane to local authorities, who informed the London Air Traffic Control. The ATC, in turn, brought the matter to the DGCA's knowledge.
After a preliminary probe, the DGCA suspended the flying licences of the pilots and referred the case to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is the designated body for probing serious incidents. A statement by Jet Airways said: "The subject incident did not have any damage to aircraft or property, nor injuries to crew members or guests on board. We are investigating the event that has been brought to our attention, as part of our active safety management system. At Jet Airways, safety of its guests, crew and assets is of paramount importance."
The wide-body aircraft took off without using the full length of runway available to it, technically called an intersection take-off. Once air-borne, the plane reportedly did not climb to the required height and passed very close over the airport boundary wall and traffic on the road beyond the wall.
The regulator took serious note of this because India has seen an accident being caused by this reason only. On April 26, 1993, an Indian Airlines Boeing 737 took off from Aurangabad for Mumbai. But it did not achieve the required height and its landing gear and engine cover hit a truck carrying cotton bales on the highway beyond the runway. As a result, the Boeing 737 flew into high tension wires three km from the runway and then crashed there. Of 118 people on board, 55 died in this crash.
The episode came to light as people living near Heathrow complained about the low-flying plane to local authorities, who informed the London Air Traffic Control. The ATC, in turn, brought the matter to the DGCA's knowledge.
After a preliminary probe, the DGCA suspended the flying licences of the pilots and referred the case to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is the designated body for probing serious incidents. A statement by Jet Airways said: "The subject incident did not have any damage to aircraft or property, nor injuries to crew members or guests on board. We are investigating the event that has been brought to our attention, as part of our active safety management system. At Jet Airways, safety of its guests, crew and assets is of paramount importance."
The wide-body aircraft took off without using the full length of runway available to it, technically called an intersection take-off. Once air-borne, the plane reportedly did not climb to the required height and passed very close over the airport boundary wall and traffic on the road beyond the wall.
The regulator took serious note of this because India has seen an accident being caused by this reason only. On April 26, 1993, an Indian Airlines Boeing 737 took off from Aurangabad for Mumbai. But it did not achieve the required height and its landing gear and engine cover hit a truck carrying cotton bales on the highway beyond the runway. As a result, the Boeing 737 flew into high tension wires three km from the runway and then crashed there. Of 118 people on board, 55 died in this crash.
