AI Express flights tail dips during take-off at Kochi

KOCHI:An Air India Express flight bound for Abu Dhabi had to land back in Kochi after its tail dipped during take-off on Sunday night. The flight was carrying about 190 passengers including four infants, and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had noticed the incident soon after the take- off.

The pilot was asked to immediately return, after jettisoning off portion of the fuel. It took about an hour and a half to finish the fuel jettisoning process and to landed back normally, an Air India spokesman told TOI here.

The passengers were then lodged in a nearby hotel and the aircraft was declared AOG (Aircraft On Ground) for carrying out the repairs.

"The Boeing design ensues that structure of the aircraft is not affected in the tail dipping incident, as the cartridges provided for this on the tail take the impact of dipping.

But those cartridges have to be replaced after such an incident. The repair work is over and the aircraft is back into commercial sorties. It flew to Mumbai this morning and will fly to Sharjah tonight after its return," the spokesman said.

The passengers were sent to Abu Dhabi today in a Jumbo flight which also carried the passengers stranded at the airport following the skidding off of the Gulf Air flight on Monday morning, he disclosed.

Some of the passengers on the flight however complained that the airline did not give any reason for the return of the flight after its take off, and were not giving adequate information on the rescheduled flight for a long hours on Monday.

The flight was carrying about 190 passenger's including four infants, and the Air Traffic Control had noticed the incident soon after the take- off.
Source: Times of India