Air India Express plane has miraculous escape after grazing wall

Trichy/Mumbai,(IANS): All 130 passengers and six crew members on board an Air India Express flight to Dubai had a miraculous escape early on October 12 when the aircraft’s wheels scraped the airport’s outer wall during take-off in Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
“The aircraft hit the airport’s instrument landing systems (ILS) and then the compound wall,” Trichy Airport Director K. Gunasekaran told IANS.
Although parts of the Boeing B737-800’s undercarriage were damaged, the pilots, unaware of the accident, continued to fly until the airport staff alerted them. The plane was then diverted to Mumbai and landed there four hours later around 5.40 a.m.
The flight IX-611, with 130 passengers and six crew, had taken off at around 1.20 a.m.
“We informed the pilot about the mishap,” Gunasekaran said. “The pilot said nothing was wrong with the plane as the systems were functioning normally. But we found some parts of the plane like an antenna on the ground.”
An Air India statement said officers of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had reached Trichy and so had Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau officers.
Pending investigation, the airline has derostered both Captain D. Ganesh Babu, who has flying experience of 3,600 hours on Boeing 737 including 500 hours as commander, and co-pilot and First Officer Captain Anurag, who has flying experience of around 3,000 hours.
Authorities began a probe while technicians in Mumbai examined the damaged aircraft.

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