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NEW DELHI: Air India Express Tiruchirapalli-Sharjah flight returned to land safely at the origin on Friday night. The Boeing 737 (VT-AYB) had left Trichy at 5.43 pm with about 150 people on board. Soon after take off, it suffered a hydraulic failure due to which the landing gear could not be retracted.
“Since the aircraft was fuelled up to fly to Sharjah, the crew will burn fuel for a while by circling nearby before landing.This is done to avoid over weight landing by coming below the maximum landing weight. An over weight landing can damage the landing gear,” said sources. It landed safely around 8.15 pm in Trichy after safely burning fuel.
The airline described it as a “precautionary landing” due to the suspected snag. All precautionary steps like lining up emergency vehicles along the runway as per norms have been made for this aircraft’s landing.
An aviation ministry spokesperson said: “The aircraft has landed safely. The DGCA is monitoring (the situtation). The landing gear was opening and it landed normally. But the airport was alert and ready (for any situation).”
Tamil Nadu chief minister Stalin responded to the incident and said he was “heartened” to know the plane had landed safely at the Tiruchirapalli international airport. He also said that he had directed the authorities to ensure all neccessary assistance and continued safety to all the passengers.
“Upon receiving news of the landing gear issue, I immediately coordinated an emergency meeting with officials over the phone and instructed them to implement all necessary safety measures, including deploying fire engines, ambulances, and medical assistance,” CM Stalin wrote on X.
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