Agency report

New Delhi, Apr 10:  Two Air India flights made emergency landings in the Indian capital on Monday following landing gear problems, but all passengers were safe, the airline said.

However, the nose gear of one of the planes failed while it was being taxied off the runway, forcing all 183 people on board to disembark using a step ladder, according to a statement.

Pic courtesy: AP

Mukesh Jadav, a passenger on the Airbus A-310 aircraft, told the Press Trust of India news agency the experience was scary.

"The aircraft had descended and we saw the runway, but suddenly it took off and the pilot announced there was problem in opening the landing gear and everybody panicked," it quoted him as saying.

The plane circled New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport for nearly an hour before landing without incident, said an official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

"However, when the aircraft was being towed away from the runway to a remote bay for repair through a taxi track, the nose gear capsized as a result of which further operations were affected," the statement said.

The aircraft got bogged down in the soft earth around the runway, the official said, adding flights at the airport were disrupted for nearly three hours.

Later Monday, an Air India 767 Boeing flight coming from Dubai also faced a landing gear problem and made an emergency landing with 65 passengers on board, the official said.

There were no injuries to the passengers, the official said.

He had no details on the nature of the problem with the landing gear.

Update

Preliminary investigations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the two emergency landings by Air India aircraft at New Delhi’s IGI airport yesterday, have revealed serious procedural lapses and poor maintenance. 

“The first aircraft, which was flying in from Bangkok broke its nose landing gear, though it had been replaced recently.

We suspect that there were modifications made to the system, which were not according to the manufacturer’s norms,” said a DGCA official investigating the accident. The aircraft is approximately 20 years old.

“The pilot normally sees a signal on the panel in the cockpit when the landing gear is lowered.

Since he could not see it, he was hovering around the airport for some time, as he could not land,” the official said.

The pilot finally saw the signal on the panel after repeated tries and landed safely. However investigators say the landing gear was still not functioning properly and that is why it broke after it was being towed away.

“There have been modifications in the nose landing gear. We will investigate it thoroughly.

At least, it did not give away when the passengers were inside, otherwise it would have been a disaster,” said the official.

The 169 passengers and crew of 14 were evacuated to safety. In the second instance, the Boeing 767 originating from Dubai, had been taken on a wet (short-term) lease from an American airline.

“There are doubts about the condition of the aircraft and we will investigate it,” the official said.

An Air India spokesman S Venkat however said inquiries are still on about the incident. Without confirming or denying the modifications, he said he did not have any knowledge about it.
 
The first incident

An Airbus A-310 coming in from Bangkok made an emergency landing after its landing gear jammed and the wheels refused to emerge.

The plane landed on its third attempt and was wheeled to safely at 7.45 am.

But as soon as the tractor tried to tow it away, the nose-wheel collapsed and the plane got stuck on the main runway, closing it for nearly four hours.

The second incident

In the evening, an Air India Boeing 767 Dubai-Delhi flight  (AI-736), landed amid emergency conditions with the pilot informing the air traffic control about a problem in the right landing gear of the aircraft.

The flight landed safely at 3.15 pm and the aircraft has been taken to a remote bay for repairs after the passengers de-planed.