AAI team inspects airport compound, ILS
A day after 136 passengers on board a Dubai-bound flight had a miraculous escape after it hit a equipment and knocked down a portion of the airport compound wall while taking off, a special team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Delhi, arrived here and held enquiries with the Tiruchy International Airport (TIA) officials on Saturday.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-10-13 22:17 GMT
Thiruchirapalli
Sources said the team inspected the condition of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that got damaged and is expected to submit a detailed report on the incident to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
TIA officials said it would take at least a month to repair the damaged ILS instrument. However, they have confirmed that an alternate system has been put in place and regular operations of the airport would not be affected.
The authorities carried out temporary repair work on the damaged compound wall and the RESA (Runway End Safety Area).
Asking the public not to panic, they claimed that it was the first such incident in the history of Tiruchy airport.
Officials said the Air India Express plane was flying at a speed of 250 km and possibly overloaded when it brushed the compound wall. They said Manimala of Tiruvarur district suffered injuries after her car, which passed by that way at the same time, was hit by a debris, which came from the broken wall.
According to the airline, the pilot in command, Captain D Ganesh Babu, has a flying experience of 3,600 hours on the B737 aircraft. The first officer, Captain Anurag, has an experience of about 3,000 hours.
Ganesh Babu had reportedly told officials that there was no problem in the plane and all the cockpit equipment indicated to him that plane was in good shape.
The officials said the pilot was supposed to take-off at a particular point on the runway, but could have crossed that point before taking off leading to the tyre brushing the wall.
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