Air India Express: Mid-air glitch shortly after takeoff
An Air India Express Boeing 737 NG aircraft operating from Tiruchi to Sharjah circled over the Tiruchirappalli International Airport for nearly three hours before safely returning as the landing gear couldn’t be retracted after take off.
A senior official said the DGCA is investigating the incident.
The landing gear is a set of wheels and other parts that support a plane on the ground and make it possible to take off and land.
The landing gear has to be retracted after take-off to improve the aircraft’s aerodynamics and reduce drag, but on Friday’s (Oct. 11, 2024) flight, the landing gear couldn’t be drawn back.
An extended landing gear increases drag, resulting in a 150% fuel burn for an aircraft like the Boeing 737. This means a flight would not be able to complete its journey and must be diverted.
Flight IX 613 took off from Tiruchi at 5.40 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 11, 2024) and started circling the airport minutes later as the pilots tried to burn fuel before returning. It finally landed back safely at 8.30 p.m.
“Aircraft made a normal landing, and all passengers are safe,” Airport Director G. Gopalakrishnan said.
The cause of the snag will be duly investigated. In the interim, an alternative aircraft will be arranged for our guests’ onward journey,” a spokesperson for Air India Express said.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naiduin, an X post, said: “Air India Express flight AXB- 613 has safely landed at Trichy Airport following a hydraulic failure. The crew and emergency ground teams acted swiftly to ensure the safety of all 141 passengers on board.”
He added that Air India Express had been advised to make necessary arrangements for the passengers’ onward travel. “Safety remains our highest priority in every operation.”
Safety aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said, “It seems that either the engineer or the pilot didn’t conduct a walkaround before the take-off, and they forgot to remove the landing gear pin. That could be why pilots had to circle the airport and reduce the aircraft’s weight to less than maximum landing weight. Otherwise, the pilots could have made an overweight landing if it was just an issue of extended landing gear.”
Pins are inserted into the nose and main landing gear when the aircraft is on the ground to prevent inadvertent gear retraction during maintenance or towing, and they must be removed before a takeoff.