‘Big or small hits, onus on pilots to take last and safe call’

D Sudhakara Reddy, Founder and National President of APAI (Air Passengers Association of India), vehemently condemned the controversy and put the blame on the pilots in charge. “I find it ridiculous to believe that the pilots were unaware of the damage to the body of the flight and the wheels hitting the airport perimeter wall – how is that possible, especially when they are so close to the ground? Air Traffic Control also delayed its communication, perhaps because they missed the incident when it happened. If the flight had been just five feet lower, we would be now staring at a fatal devastation.”

He added that the pilots could have landed in Chennai which is closer to Tiruchy, rather than fly all the way to Mumbai for a period of three hours – “Maybe the Tiruchy airport didn’t have the provision for an emergency landing, but it baffles me that they flew all the way to Mumbai and prolonged the danger. I’m sure none of the passengers would have been able to sleep as well after the collision.”

Sudhakara also said that he doesn’t expect any comprehensive action or change to come out of this, apart from the pilots being suspended and then reinstated quickly. “I’ve gotten used to reading about near-fatalities almost every couple of weeks now. I’m not positive at all.”

Just last month in September, the pilot of an IndiGo aircraft had to abort his plan to land after spotting a vehicle cross the runway at Chennai Airport, thankfully averting an accident. Similarly, in February, a Delhi-bound SpiceJet aircraft burst its tyre as well as spilt hydraulic fluid on runway, and after landing, burst another tyre damaging the runway.

A pilot from another aircraft who didn’t wish to be named termed the incident ‘bizarre’ and said that the passengers were extremely lucky to be safe. “However, I wouldn’t blame the pilots entirely without knowing all the details of the incident. There will be an investigation done and the report will give us the information. But I admit that as pilots, if we feel the slightest touch to the aircraft during take-off, it does constitute as an emergency and we land just to ensure complete safety.”

A city-based cabin crew attendant added that it’s a possibility that the pilots were senior in nature and had carried on with the take-off even after the cabin crew informing them. “We are always instructed to inform the pilot if we sense any unusual sound, smell or movement. Given that the underbelly of the plane has been so damaged, I’m sure the impact was noticed in-flight. The MEL (Minimum Equipment List) and CRM (Crew Resource Management) is in place for situations like this to improve air safety. There are some discrepancies which can be allowed – that will not result in potential emergencies – and some that can’t be avoided. However, in this case, it goes without saying that they should have landed,” she said.

According to experts, it is mandatory for the pilot to initiate an emergency landing if the flight comes into contact with another object during take off and the impact is felt inside the flight.